So, just for one moment, imagine that money and politics aren’t the top priorities when it comes to city planning. What would Taipei look like, and would it be a better place?
It conceivably would be for Bruno Andreas Walther, an assistant professor in charge of the master’s program for health and development at Taipei Medical University, who supports the idea of an Eco Republic. This has a similar kind of ring to it as Plato’s Republic, but instead of being a city-state led by philosopher kings and ideas of truth and justice, ecologists rule.
Such an idea isn’t that far-fetched if we are indeed inexorably heading toward a global warming doomsday — as many scientists believe. In fact there’s a book on the subject by a professor of politics at Princeton University, Melissa Lane. She posits that eco leaders must create a virtuous mindset in the population that will overcome the challenges of impending environmental collapse.
Photo: Jules Quartly
Naturally, the Eco Republic would help combat environmental destruction, preserve habitats and diversity, but Taiwan’s Eco State would do more than this, Walther says, as he warms to his theme.
“The island is running out of space. It’s a global challenge to make cities better places to live in, but how do you change them into ecosystems? It’s something that Taiwan is many miles away from, things like rooftop gardens, wetlands, recycling and reusing... Ecosystems don’t produce trash.”
It’s probably fair to call Walther a “nature nerd.” He is, after all, a fan of Janine Benyus. Benyus, an American natural science writer, is a proponent of biomimicry, meaning we should emulate nature to create sustainable products, policies and cities. Basically, it’s a nature knows best approach to life.
Here are some facts from Jesse Berst, chairman of the Smart Cities Council: Five million people move to cities every month, cities generate 70 to 80 percent of all carbon emissions, and produce 75 percent of global gross domestic product. Meanwhile, a smart approach to urban problems can reduce crime by 20 to 30 percent, reduce traffic congestion by 20 percent, increase usable water supplies by 20 to 40 percent, make power savings of 10 to 30 percent in smart buildings and smart grids can reduce outages by 10 to 40 percent.
As for Taipei, you could say that it has worked hard on trying to be a smart city, with Wi-Fi everywhere, IoT and intelligent communities. All this is well and good, Walther agrees, but to be truly clever it needs to work with nature. And borrow ideas from it.
He thinks that sites like Huashan 1914 Creative Park and Songshan Cultural and Creative Park are “isolated” examples of how Taipei has inched toward the concept of becoming an Eco Republic, carving out green spaces from brownfield sites that are now centers for intelligent design, tourism, rest and recreation.
Walther would probably approve of the soon-to-be unveiled EcoArk at Taipei Expo Park, constructed out of 1.52 million recycled PET bottles and said to be the first building made entirely of garbage.
However, he looks to Europe for further inspiration, cities like Copenhagen and the “world’s greenest city,” Freiburg in Germany, with its eco housing, car-free streets and renewable energy initiatives. To achieve such an environmentally-friendly future won’t be easy, Walther admits, but it is doable if the vision and will is there.
Now, having temporarily put aside worldly cares such as money and politics, it would appear that we must return to them.
An Eco Republic, Walther says, would focus more on the quality of life, rather than the economy of life. It would place less credence on a nation’s GDP than its HPI (Happy Planet Index), which marks down polluting nations while giving countries with lighter ecological footprints higher scores. Unsurprisingly, Walther is against TINAs — there is no alternative (to capitalism) — and for TATAs, there are a thousand alternatives.
Given the fact that Taiwan seems to be lagging behind the other Asian Tigers — South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong — in economic terms, Walther thinks that instead of just chasing the dollar, we should pursue diversity instead.
“The economy doesn’t make you happy. If you diversify the economy you could create something different,” he says. “And if you don’t invest society stands still and then is overtaken,” he says.
He adds that Taiwan could do with rebranding, like being the California of Asia. “People around the world would sit up and take notice; it would be as different from China as it was possible to be. My main point here is how Taiwan is seen by the world. After all, it’s sometimes confused with China or Thailand. Rebranding would really be important politically in terms of its de facto independence.”
“We should make Taiwan the best country for the arts, education and tolerance, and attract people with brains and ideas. Ecosystems are stable and resilient, the Eco Republic would be too,” Walther says.
A sine qua non for Walther is getting rid of cars and scooters, which clog up the streets and atmosphere. Water should be creatively conserved, rather than disappear rather too literally down the drain. He basically wants less concrete and more trees: “Turn gray into green.”
“I would like to call it the Green Republic,” he adds before realizing the possible political implications. Walther says green, a color typically associated with the Democratic Progressive Party, and blue, those sympathetic towards the Chinese National Party, should put aside their differences and work together for environmental sustainability in the “Turquoise Republic.”
A German who has married a Taiwanese and has a young boy, Walther has a vested interest in turning Taiwan turquoise, or more “livable.” I think he means well, but as a natural cynic I’m reminded once again of Plato, who said, “Tyranny naturally arises out of democracy.” I imagine a dictatorship of ecologists and think of everyone having to dig fields and plant rice or potatoes.
To be fair this is not what Walther has in mind. Rather, he’s concerned about the sustainability of cities and the future of the planet. He not only talks the talk by saying, “this is what every environmentalist cause is about.” He also walks the walk by practicing what he preaches.
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