Website use for Sustainability: Notes for Discussion with website managers in Changsha, China, October 2010 Ton Dietz Professor, Human Geography Universities of Amsterdam and Leiden, The Netherlands

Purposes of a Website of a Region in a foreign language Inform foreign visitors/tourists Inform business people (investors, traders) Enable local people to contact foreigners (enable contacts, friendship) Showcase the special characteristics of the region: in Hunan/Changsaa: search for sustainability/sustainable city

Sustainable Cities: THE Challenge of the 21st Century A combination of challenges: – How to reduce the use of energy, mainly in buildings and transport? – How to make cities climate neutral? – How to re-use urban waste? – How to keep water and air clean and healthy? – How to make cities green and biodiverse, and how to connect this to human well-being? – How to diminish the city’s negative footprint on area and people elsewhere?

Sustainable city movement Global attempt to make cities more sustainable, even if national governments are not ‘green’ (or even anti-green). Alliances between local municipal governments + local universities and think tanks + civil society + local business organisations Important role for education: lecturers and teachers + teacher trainers Develop a ‘rainbow approach

Red Sustainability in Cities Develop smart transport systems energy-poor mobility, virtual traveling, tele- work, mobility-poor communication, smart linkages home-work-shop-leisure ‘compact city’, public transport, bicycles, ‘ smart’ spatial organization, ‘ smart’ parking arrangements avoid noise pollution, and create silent spots in the cities

Orange Sustainability in Cities -zero-energy buildings -cities as energy producers -‘smart’ architectural design -Low-carbon architectural design -climate-proof buildings -Disaster-proof buildings -Integrate buildings and water

Yellow Sustainability in Cities low-carbon city climate neutrality use of wasted heat and cold GHG mitigation, adaptation, compensation urban vulnerability and resilience (climate-shock proof) energy security smart grids alternative energy

Green Sustainability in Cities Green Urban landscape planning with attention for parks, public and private gardens, green buffer zones, greening the streets and rooftops, urban eco-diversity, re- creation of urban nature, greening waste dumps, cleaning chemically polluted areas, urban agriculture, leisure agriculture. Monitor ‘’ healthy urban nature’ (Lifewatch project; see cordis.europa.eu).

Blue Sustainability in Cities Clean surface and ground water, clean water transport, innovative water management (‘ smart water’), good water storage facilities and calamity provisions for droughts and floods, flood-alert planning, aquatic biodiversity, urban fisheries for leisure and for food security/quality. Attention for the water footprint (see virtualwater.eu ).

Indigo Sustainability in Cities Solid waste management separating ‘ grey’ and ‘ black’ water (urban sewage management) waste limitation re-use of waste (e.g., waste as bio-energy) emission-free cars clean air; avoid air pollution from industries, heating/cooling systems, and transport

Violet Sustainability in Cities Reducing resource use, resource efficiency, value-chain management, conscious consumers and traders, sustainable and fair companies (socially and environmentally responsible business), slow food movement, meat and fish-poor diets, organic lifestyles, environmentally caring lifestyles, lower ecological footprint elsewhere, consumers as producers (‘prosumers’).

The use of (website) information to support the movement for sustainable cities Report all local initiatives, and highlight the alliances and innovations Show successes and failures (you can also learn from failures: be transparent) Link with good examples from elsewhere and support learning by comparison Stimulate local businesses and government agencies to show their attempts to become more sustainable Stimulate students and teachers/lecturers to share their studies on sustainability.

Sustainable Universities Support universities to get a ‘green portal’ on their websites: about the role of a university in sustainability: – Role in teaching/curriculum development – Research activities – Outreach activities (alliances with others) – Sustainable management of the university as an organisation. – E.g. (duurzaamheid)

Find a balance Avoid being only alarmist (only showing disasters and suffering) But make use of images and information that can shock people – And make them prepared to change their way of thinking – And their way of acting/way of life And also show that there are (many) alternatives to non-green or anti-green lifestyles