Test-bedding SustainableTest-bedding Sustainable Solutions for MegacitiesSolutions for Megacities

Thiam Soon TAN, Vice Provost, NUS

Eng Soon CHAN, Dean (Engineering), NUSWen Jun ZHANG Vice President (Research)Wen Jun ZHANG, Vice President (Research) and Ying Hong PENG, AsstPresident Shanghai Jiaotong UniversityPresident, Shanghai Jiaotong University

10/26/2011 National Innovation Conference for Higher Source: wanderingearl.com

BackgroundBackground

Th f t i l b l l ti iThe fast-growing global population is also urbanising rapidly – provides challenges and opportunities:

• Challenges: resource and environmentChallenges: resource and environment pressures – energy/water/food - more acute in cities;acute in cities;

• Cities provides more natural setting for investment and optimization at ainvestment and optimization at a systems level

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S ll k t ti tiSome well known statistics

Population: 6 billion in 1999 expected to be 7 billion NEXT year and projected to grow to 8.8 billion by 2040.2040: 5.6 billion people (~65%) in cities,

d ith 3 5 billi t d ( 50%)compared with 3.5 billion today (~50%). Today there are approximately 600 cities with a population greater than 750 000 people averagepopulation greater than 750,000 people – average population ~ 2.5 millionCurrently 23 megacities by 2025 the averageCurrently 23 megacities, by 2025, the average population 3 million, and 29 megacitiesGreatest growth in emerging economiesGreatest growth in emerging economies

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EnergyNeeds

GrowingPopulation

Rapid rising demand for power

Chinese cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou are desperate for power.

Ultra high density urbanization

In 23 megacities in the world, 12 of them are in Asian countries with more than 10 million people Population

The International Energy Agency Predicts that between 2002 and 2030 worldwide electricity demand will double

million people.

Safety & Security

Challenges for

Challenges for Environment

ShanghaiMegacitiesMegacities

Growing demand for safety and security

• Leading threats are: crime, poor planning/city management,

Growing pollution threats13 cities identified as brown‐cloud hot spots (UN Report).

Traffic Public Health

planning/city management, terrorism, and natural disasters.

ot spots (U epo t).

Water shortages due to climate change threatens livelihoods.

Singapore

CongestionPublic Health

Increasing congestion

Beijing, with a total number of  5 million cars, is ranked top 5 most 

Growing demand for health servicesThreat of pandemics .

Lack of capacity  and inefficient congested cities in the world.

Average time spent on  road to office is more than 52 minutes in Beijing, 47 minutes in shanghai

operations.

C l l d blComplex coupled problems

Increasing awareness that problems are at nexus - problems are strongly and multiply coupledNo longer possible to optimize locally –No longer possible to optimize locally overall systems response can be negative if not fully appreciatedif not fully appreciatedIncreasing awareness of the need to apply concepts from systems modelling and theconcepts from systems modelling and the understanding of the systems dynamics

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Singapore’s effortsSingapore s efforts

Even if able to develop systems model,Even if able to develop systems model, how do we know we are right? Singapore wishes to be a test bed forSingapore wishes to be a test bed for future-ready solutions for citiesSi h d l d dSingapore has developed some very good infrastructure solutions - how such

l ti b h d b d t d tsolutions behave and can be adapted to other places of different size, complexity

d i l l d ??and social landscape??Concept of twin test-bedding

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SJTU –NUS CREATE:Energy and EnvironmentalSingapore Shanghai, ChinaEnergy and Environmental

Sustainability for Megacities

SJTU‐NUS CREATE

Developing a platform to Developing a platform to test test ggbed bed coupled problems in coupled problems in

cities of increasing size and cities of increasing size and complexitycomplexitycomplexitycomplexity

Test‐bedding Solutions:Test‐bedding Solutions: • Marina Reservoir• Punggol‐Serangoon Catchment and Reservoir

• Ulu Pandan Canal (Aquatic

Test‐bedding Solutions:• Qingcaosha Reservoir• Maqiao Town, Minhang District• SJTU Campus

SizeComplexit

y• Ulu Pandan Canal (Aquatic Science Center)

• NUS Campus

p

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Test‐bedding Solutions with State‐of‐the‐Art Technologies within a Systems Framework

Test‐bedding Solutions with State‐of‐the‐Art Technologies within a Systems Framework

Concluding remarksConcluding remarksProject still under developmentProject still under developmentComplex - involves not only universities but government and funding agenciesbut government and funding agencies across boundaries – alignment is challengingchallengingDeveloping a large PhD program to

t thi ith f di f b th idsupport this with funding from both sides Engineering leaders of tomorrow need to have a deeper understanding of the complexity of and able to deal with highly coupled problems at nexus

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