The Taipei City government has invested billions of dollars to construct environmentally-friendly buildings and has designed colorful flower-filled corners all over the city in preparation for an upcoming floral exposition, but a group of artists and architects expressed reservations about the overall environmental impact of the event.
City government officials have considered mainly pro-development policies instead of the big challenge of the future ? climate change, said Wu Ma-li (吳瑪俐), an assistant professor at National Kaohsiung Normal University's Graduate Institute of Interdisciplinary Art.
The budget for the Taipei International Flora Exposition, which will be held from Nov. 6 through April 25 next year, is more than NT$12.3 billion (US$388 million), she said.
Although government officials have been touting the new "green" buildings, many of their policies are not ideal for developing an eco-friendly city, Wu said at a forum in Taipei on Saturday.
The head of the Organization of Urban Re-s (OURs), a group devoted to city redesign, echoed Wu's views.
"While Taipei City Government officials are touting their "green" buildings, they have not considered the fact that the use of cement in the construction of the new buildingd greatly exceeds the carbon reduction," said Huang Jui-mao (黃瑞茂), chairman of the organization.
He also expressed concern that the spaces used for the event would be turned into building sites after the expo and urged Taipei residents to work together to create a more eco-friendly urban environment.
"The city government should not devote all of its efforts to promoting the event, but should use this opportunity to achieve long-term development of the city," Huang said.
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