56
has led people to derisively call China the “world’s factory.” At the same time, this
growth has occurred without much consideration for the environment. Growth has
placed tremendous pressure on China’s environment. Building on centuries of
environmental degradation and pollution, the very rapid industrialization of the last
quarter century has contributed to some of the highest rates of air and water pollution in the world, as well as severe land degradation, and a range of other emerging
resource challenges; among them all, the most visible of China’s environmental
challenges is air pollution [ 11 ].
3.3.2.2 China′s Air Pollution
China’s air pollution is due to an overwhelming reliance on coal for energy production. China relies on coal for approximately 70% of its energy, consuming about
1.96 billion tons in 2004. The carbon dioxide emission rate reached 1.6 GtC (gigatons of carbon or 10
15 g carbon) per year in 2006 [ 12 ], and China has become the
world’s largest emitter of sulfur dioxide. Moreover, by 2020, transportation experts
anticipate that China will have at least 110–160 million cars on its roads. Today,
China is attempting to push forward with renewable energy and with alternative
fuels, such as compressed natural gas.
3.3.3 Korea’s Cheonggyecheon Restoration Case Through
Community Participation
On July 17, 2009, 5 years after the completion of the Cheonggyecheon project, the
New York Times reported that the restoration was part of an expanding environmental effort in cities around the world to “daylight” rivers and streams by “peeling
back pavement” that was built to bolster commerce and serve automobile traffi c
decades earlier [ 13 ].
3.3.3.1 History of Cheonggyecheon and Leader′s Attitude
In Korean, Cheonggyecheon means “clean water stream” and this area of Seoul
once had deep signifi cance for the people living there. It runs through the city center. Seoul was chosen as the capital of Korea more than 600 years ago, and was
positioned among four mountains: ones to the east, west, north, and south.
Cheonggyecheon provided a cultural space and shelter before it was covered over
with a road. For a long time, Cheonggyecheon was both a fl ood control channel
and a place to wash laundry. However, by the 1940s, the stream had begun to fi ll up
with sewage and trash, and it became a slum area after the Korean War. Since 1958,
the stream was gradually covered over with a concrete road for two main reasons:
fi lthy water (and an unsafe environment that made people lose interest in the area)
M. Onuki and K.J. An
has led people to derisively call China the “world’s factory.” At the same time, this
growth has occurred without much consideration for the environment. Growth has
placed tremendous pressure on China’s environment. Building on centuries of
environmental degradation and pollution, the very rapid industrialization of the last
quarter century has contributed to some of the highest rates of air and water pollution in the world, as well as severe land degradation, and a range of other emerging
resource challenges; among them all, the most visible of China’s environmental
challenges is air pollution [ 11 ].
3.3.2.2 China′s Air Pollution
China’s air pollution is due to an overwhelming reliance on coal for energy production. China relies on coal for approximately 70% of its energy, consuming about
1.96 billion tons in 2004. The carbon dioxide emission rate reached 1.6 GtC (gigatons of carbon or 10
15 g carbon) per year in 2006 [ 12 ], and China has become the
world’s largest emitter of sulfur dioxide. Moreover, by 2020, transportation experts
anticipate that China will have at least 110–160 million cars on its roads. Today,
China is attempting to push forward with renewable energy and with alternative
fuels, such as compressed natural gas.
3.3.3 Korea’s Cheonggyecheon Restoration Case Through
Community Participation
On July 17, 2009, 5 years after the completion of the Cheonggyecheon project, the
New York Times reported that the restoration was part of an expanding environmental effort in cities around the world to “daylight” rivers and streams by “peeling
back pavement” that was built to bolster commerce and serve automobile traffi c
decades earlier [ 13 ].
3.3.3.1 History of Cheonggyecheon and Leader′s Attitude
In Korean, Cheonggyecheon means “clean water stream” and this area of Seoul
once had deep signifi cance for the people living there. It runs through the city center. Seoul was chosen as the capital of Korea more than 600 years ago, and was
positioned among four mountains: ones to the east, west, north, and south.
Cheonggyecheon provided a cultural space and shelter before it was covered over
with a road. For a long time, Cheonggyecheon was both a fl ood control channel
and a place to wash laundry. However, by the 1940s, the stream had begun to fi ll up
with sewage and trash, and it became a slum area after the Korean War. Since 1958,
the stream was gradually covered over with a concrete road for two main reasons:
fi lthy water (and an unsafe environment that made people lose interest in the area)
M. Onuki and K.J. An