Case Studies

West Changsha Pioneer Zone in Hunan Province

An example of such panning can be seen in the case of a new city developed by KPF in the West Changsha Pioneer Zone in Hunan Province in China. The city has been designed to preserve existing geographic contours.

In the city plan, water is retained to form a 40-hectare manmade lake (Meixi) that will provide for boat transport linkages, creating conditions for edge gardens, as well as hosting cultural venues. Around this lake is wrapped the mixed-use central business district (CBD). Here, high-rise building districts are connected by a pedestrian tram street, reducing the need for car use in the city center. The radial geometry of the city plan allows for an efficient transport system. This helps in reducing pollution and energy use. the city also employs other sustainable strategies such as collective gray and black water systems, distributed energy plants, and urban agriculture. A river flood plain is turned into a linear park that includes recreational areas, micro-farms, and residential rows.

Tianjin Binhai CBD Master Plan (SOM) 

SOM developed a Central Business District-based plan in Southeast of central Tianjin City called the Tanggu New Area Master Plan.  The plan redeveloped an industrial zone that was once the old port of Beijing into a new center of commerce. It has a comprehensive road and rail system that will interlink high-rises, historic neighborhoods, and open spaces in the mixed-use district. 

A high-speed train will link northeastern China's major cities between Beijing and Tangu and will thus help create an accessible network of transit from the capital to the Bohai Gulf shore. 

LEED Neighborhood, Olympic Village 

In the year 2008, China hosted the Summer Olympic Games.  To provide a temporary home for about 17,000 athletes from around the world, China built a one-of-its-kind, environmentally friendly, Olympics Village. The plan for the village has been awarded LEED-Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) under its pilot LEED for Neighborhood Development certification program. LEED for Neighborhood Development integrates the principles of smart growth, New Urbanism, and green building into a comprehensive system for neighborhood design.

The Beijing Olympic Village is the first Olympic Village to receive LEED certification, and as part of the pilot program, it is one of only eight developments, and the first international project to achieve certification under LEED for Neighborhood Development.

In addition to this, DOE assisted in designing, constructing, and commissioning a micro-energy building that was used as a welcome and service center during the games. The building design was analyzed using EnergyPlus simulations to optimize different building features. Simulations were also used to evaluate the performance of the HVAC system. The building that was chosen for the demonstration was around 3000 sqft in terms of area and was in the center of the Olympic Village surrounded by athletic dormitories. This building is now refashioned into a kindergarten.

Big Darby Accord Watershed Master Plan, OH

Big Darby Accord is a plan that has been developed by ten jurisdictions in the Big Darby Watershed within Franklin County to preserve and protect the Big Darby Creek and its tributaries29 as well as to provide a direction for responsible and managed growth30. The Accord designated an area of approximately 2,500 acres of land for the targeted site of the Town Center development. The key to realizing the vision of the Accord was a mixed-use, mixed income urban development that would concentrate development, create business and commercial opportunities. The Town Center is thus designed to accommodate a mix of housing types such as single-family detached and multi-family; street-facing retail; professional offices; public amenities such as schools and a location for a new fire station; and extensive open spaces linking neighborhoods.

The town center is connected to the Batelle Darby Park through a network of trails, paths, habitat corridors. It also boasts of storm water management systems and a village design that limit the impact of development without compromising the walkability, density and the feel of the village. The Big Darby Town Center Master Plan was selected for the "Award of Excellence" by the Ohio Chapter of the American Planning Association. Further, The Batelle Darby Creek Metro in Ohio has 33 miles of trails in the forests and prairies along the wetlands and streams that provide educational and recreational opportunities for thousands of visitors each year. Moreover, a nature center (additional information in Section 3) has erected to provide more information about opportunities to explore the Darby Creek Watershed.