Development of Sustainable Urban-Rural Integration: Dongtan Case Study

Abstract

The environmental impact issues, such as global warming and expansion of the urban zone, seem more serious and have become the biggest defining challenges of the 21st century. Climate change can lead to water shortages, desertification, land degradation, air pollution, rising sea levels, accelerated deforestation, and exacerbated economic pressures. Global urban growth greatly impacts changes in sociability, humanity, and the environment of the Earth. The human presence, especially in cities, seriously affects resource use and waste disposal, and they are consuming natural resources faster than the planet can sustain during urbanization, changing how people live.  China, with a population of 1.3 billion, has seen tens of millions of people living in the countryside migrate to cities, especially megacities, since the 1980s. As a result of its decision to industrialize and urbanize to boost the economy, China has become the world’s second-largest consumer of energy. In recent years, China’s government has quickly recognized the lessons of “limits to growth” and has taken action by initiating the construction process in Dongtan, Shanghai, China. They are making efforts to build urban-rural integration communities to promote sustainable development. Based on a literature review focusing on Dongtan, research questions are raised according to the research objective: (1) What are the challenges of sustainable development in urban-rural integration? (2) What practices has Dongtan implemented for sustainable development, or how is sustainable development being applied to Dongtan? (3) What are the social, political, environmental, and economic concerns regarding the sustainable development of Dongtan? The sustainable urban-rural integration concerns the ecological, economic, environmental, and psychological aspects of urban-rural integration design and management. The overall objective is to promote sustainable development in economic, social, ecological, and spatial dimensions. It will be a liveable, complete community that makes economic, environmental, and social sense locally while also contributing to national and global sustainable development. It will serve as a compelling model for how to build sustainable urban-rural integration worldwide.