Net Zero Carbon Village Planning Guidelines for the Yangtze River Delta Region in China

The Guidelines focus on the current situation of the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region, developing an approach that aims to build upon normative research on climate resilient, energy and resource efficient planning principles to develop tools for the development of net-zero carbon village guidelines.

Chapter one examines the net-zero carbon village from a global perspective, shifting the notion of zero carbon planning from a focus on carbon accounting, to a focus on circular metabolisms and economies.

Chapter two outlines guiding principles for villages and the private sector to adopt to direct development towards sustainable outcomes. The guidelines build on the current situation in the Yangtze River Delta region—which includes Shanghai, northern Zhejiang Province, southern Jiangsu Province, and eastern Anhui Province—and aim to look beyond merely the green and low carbon features of a single building, extending low carbon principles to villages and their surroundings.

Chapter three presents case studies, including design recommendations, to demonstrate how net-zero carbon principles can be implemented in three villages selected from Shanghai, Zhejiang and Jiangsu. Chapter four focuses on Xiebei Village—adjacent to Shanghai on Chongming Island—and presents a more detailed methodology for how net-zero carbon village development principles can be spatially integrated into a village through the development of a conceptual plan.

Collectively, the four chapters introduce the global and historical relevance of net-zero carbon planning, set guidelines for its application in the YRD region in China, and demonstrate how those guidelines could be integrated into existing village contexts. In order to accomplish the aforementioned goals of this document, the following universal principles and concepts have been taken into account.