Overview
Chengdu is one of China’s largest cities. In people’s perception, it is favorable and in 2006 China Daily named it the 4th-most livable city in the country. It is also one of the oldest cities in the world, founded 2,000 years ago. Most recently it was in the national spotlight for earthquakes, which led to thousands in the city and surrounding area to lose their lives or homes. The major religion of the area is Buddhism and Daoism.
Geography
Chengdu is one of China’s most important cities. It is located on a large plain area that varies in elevation from 450 to 720m. Surrounded the city are mountains that reach 3000m. To the west of Chengdu is the Min River, which is a meeting place of a number of rivers in the area. The soil is fertile in and around Chengdu, and the climate is mild due to humid subtropical climate that is monsoon-induced. Quin Mountains in the North also contribute to the mild climate since they shield the city from Siberian winds in the winter (chengduhitech, 2014).
One of the most common minerals in the area is pegmatite fundus that is at a fill depth of 5 to seven meters. Sand-cobble makes up the majority of layers at depths of 7 to10 meters. This layer creates an interesting earthquake buffer in the event of dangerous seismic activity on the nearby fault line. This helped minimize damage in 2008 when a strong earthquake dubbed “Wenchuan Earthquake” shook the area with an initial quake and numerous aftershocks (chengduhitech, 2014).
The drinking water in Chengdu is supplied by abundant groundwater reservoirs, which feed the multi-million numbering population.
Social Setting
Socially, Chengdu is important is an important literary hub, and some of Chinas most renowned works of literature have their origins here. The regional dialect spoken in the region is Sichuanese, also called the Sichuan dialect. More importantly as a prominent center for disaster control, Chengdu is a model city for the region. Chengdu, along with the city of Baofeng in the Henan Province, both signed onto making commitments to reduce urban disaster risks. This was part of an agreement to build greater capacities in the city to deal with potential disasters (World Expo 2010 Shanghai, 2010).
The greater Chengdu area includes just over fourteen million inhabitants, half of which are urban. After the 2008 earthquake, one of the problems facing emergency disaster providers was finding places to house the homeless. WBL corporation limited helped meet that need by offering 440 victims who had lost their homes housing for five months until they were able to reconstruct or relocate. The government of the state brokered the arrangement by approaching the Sigapore company.(WBI, 2008).
Hazards:
Although the geological composition of the soils and bedrocks under Chengdu act as a buffer against earthquake, a large enough earthquake is still the biggest known hazard for the city. In 2008, an earthquake called Sichuan clocked in on the Richter scale at 8.0. It was devastating in the province and nearly 70,000 people in the region were killed and just over 18,000 went missing. Chengdu did not suffer any major damage during the quake. People in surrounding areas died because buildings were building with shoddy construction. Most of the buildings in the city were built to eminent safety standards for earthquake protection, and this was what saved them and the people inside them from a worse fate.
The Longmenshan Fault brings together the Indo-Australian and the Eurasian Plate. This is a 155-mile fault and after the earthquake it separated into two sections, releasing 30 fold the amount of energy as the Great Hanshin Earthquake, which occurred in 1995. One of the biggest threats this fault line poses is to the large urban population of Chengdu. As a regional hub and metropolitan area, Chengdu has many people living in close proximately and tall buildings, not all of which are up to safety codes. As the BBC has pointed out in their coverage on the topic, China may be growing at fast rates, but this often comes at the consequence of quality and safety, and oversight is limited to ensure that buildings are contracted to code. (BBC, 2014). China’s most recent tallest building, a 468-meter tall mega tour is set to be completed in the next few years (gochengdoo, 2012).
Chengdu is the 39th largest city in the world, and also has a subway system. This means at any given time tens of thousands, perhaps even close to a million, are underground in tunnels. This is certainly a risk that no amount of preparation could prevent should a massive earthquake strike the city.
Outside of seismic activity, the heavy rainfall of the region makes Chengdu at risk for floods of various degrees of severity. The construction employed in Chengdu reflects this fact. A number of the walkways are made of square bricks set on top so that people can walk even if the sidewalk becomes flooded (Expatblog, 1).
Outbreak of disease from animals is another potential risk as people in the city live not just in close quarters with one another, but also animals. The climate makes it a thriving place for monkeys who feed off garbage (Expatblog, 1). The US Consulate warns expatriates living in Chengdu of the chronic problem of air pollution; the saturated air makes Chengdu one of the worst cities in the world in terms of air pollution (US Consulate Chengdu, 2014).
Transportation in the event of a disaster presents a major problem for disaster relief coordination. Many English speaking blogs and websites of expatriates in Chengdu complain about the chronically congested traffic clogging the city’s streets.
Public Policy
Public Policy in Chengdu is sometimes a bifurcated process due to policy makers represent not just the urban population, but also Chengdu’s rural population. The system is set up this way to maximize efficiency and communication. Since 2003 Chengdu has initiated urban and rural planning jointly. This community plan called for more than two thousand new health centers in the rural areas of Chengdu in order that they receive the same level of servicer as their rural counterparts. These services are finances by the municipal government. Having health centers in place and comprehensive health coverage is crucial to dealing with potential disasters that could befall the city (Yumin and LeGates, 2006). These measures set the goal of 2008 updating public health facilities and modernizing outdated, existing ones.
Public policy researchers Richard LeGages and Ye Yummin, in their book “Coordinating Urban and Rural Development in China: Learning from Chengdu” cast the city as a model city for public policy leadership for their integration of services into a centralized and more capable entity.
Chengdu is active, specifically after the 2008 earthquake, in creating public policy, which protects its citizens from public emergencies, namely, earthquakes. According to The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, Chengdu’s declaration for action is a “five-point strategy of the Chengdu Declaration of Action includes enhancing cooperation between cities, e.g. sister-city model, strengthening local capacity and national-local cooperation; incorporating disaster resilient initiatives into urban development planning; raising more awareness in cities about disaster risk reduction” (UNISDR, 2011). In terms of cities in China, there are few as proactive in actively guarding against and mitigating the effects of natural disasters.
Conclusions
Although located around the potentially hazardous Longmenshan fault, Chengdu has a good safety record and a number of public health and disaster relief services available. The 2008 earthquake was a test of its policies and dedication to smart construction and most would say it passed the test. The biggest risk for residence there is health related, since it is one of the most polluted cities in the world. Flooding in different of the areas does cause damage, but in recent history there has not been disaster level problems of flooding. The municipality is studied as a model in the reason for their practical public policy decisions. In the health sector Chengdu has not just updated existing facilitates but constructed new facilities when and where needed. This all combines to make Chengdu a place, which while not in the safest geological place in the country, the municipality has a strong commitment to efficiency and safety.
References
ChengDu Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone. (n.d.). Climate & Geology. Retrieved April 27, 2014, from http://www.chengduhitech.co.uk/Environment/Climate_and_Geology.asp
Chengdu declaration for action. (n.d.). UNISDR News. Retrieved April 27, 2014, from http://www.unisdr.org/we/inform/publications/21330
Chengdu's newest tallest building: Ground breaks for 468-meter-tall tower. (n.d.). - GoChengdoo: Chengdu & Sichuan living, business, travel. Retrieved April 27, 2014, from http://www.gochengdoo.com/en/blog/item/2780/chengdus_newest_tallest_building_ground_breaks_for_468metertall_tower
China to make greater efforts in disaster reduction. (n.d.). - China.org.cn. Retrieved April 27, 2014, from http://www.china.org.cn/travel/expo2010shanghai/2010-10/14/content_21121942.htm
Consulate General of the United States Chengdu, China. (n.d.). U.S. Consulate Chengdu Air Quality Monitor. Retrieved April 27, 2014, from http://chengdu.usembassy-china.org.cn/air-quality-monitor4.html
Expats Blog - Expat Blogs, News, Blog Awards & More. (n.d.). Expats Blog. Retrieved April 27, 2014, from http://www.expatsblog.com/
The good and bad of China's growth. (n.d.). BBC News. Retrieved April 27, 2014, from http://www.bbc.com/news/business-25808279
Wearnes provides temporarily housing for about 440 homeless victims of Sichuan earthquake. (n.d.). WBL. Retrieved April 24, 2014, from http://wbl.listedcompany.com/newsroom/200508_press3.pdf
Ye, Y., & LeGates, R. T. (2006). Coordinating urban and rural development in China: learning from Chengdu. SV: Google Books.
