Civil Society

The health benefits of regular physical exercise have long been known. As Plato said circa 380 BC: “Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it.” Cycling, in particular, is an efficient way for people to exercise, especially if integrated into people’s everyday lives. This could include cycling to the train station as part of a commute to work or cycling to a shopping mall on the weekend.

According to the Outline of the Plan for the Reform and Development of the Pearl River Delta (PRD) for 2008 -2020, formulated by the National Development and Reform Commission, cities in the PRD are progressively converging into one urban cluster, forming the most densely populated urban corridor in China. The nine prefectures in the region were home to 56.15 million people at the end of 2010, according to the Guangdong Statistic Book 2010. Given that Guangzhou alone expects to have 20 million people by 2020, it is entirely possible the total population of the PRD could double by that time.

Finally, some data. A couple of weeks ago Civic Exchange and two Hong Kong universities released a report detailing the extent of emissions from ships in the Pearl River Delta region, and their public health impact. It’s a groundbreaking study. Using 2008 data, researchers from HKUST did a ship emissions inventory of vessels activity across the PRD. They then calculated the dispersion of the pollutants, which showed that Shenzhen and Hong Kong have the most ship emissions, ahead of other coastal PRD regions such as Zhongshan and Dongguan, and outer PRD regions, like Foshan and Huizhou.

In a recent publication called the 2012 Wealth Report, Knight Frank Research and Citi Private Bank made the bold prediction that by the year 2050, the wealthiest four economies measured by GDP per capita would be in Asia. Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea will stand atop the world, with the United States ringing in 5th. By 2050 Hong Kong’s GDP per capita is projected to be USD116,639, a whopping 157 percent increase over the 2010 figure of USD45,301. Before we start salivating over our predicted future wealth, however, we must first consider the many challenges of realizing this level of economic growth in a sustainable way.

The London Olympics 2012, which start today with the much-anticipated opening ceremony, is hoping to be the greenest Olympics in history. The Olympic Delivery Authority, which is responsible for building the Olympic Park, acknowledged from the beginning that the construction would impact the environment. Thus, they have taken a number of measures to reduce the impact of their construction work - reducing energy use, protecting wildlife, managing air and water quality, and reducing waste. These showcase what can be achieved by construction projects across the globe.