Eco Masterplan Jinan

KCAP, in collaboration with Ramboll Studio Dreiseitl, designed an ecological masterplan for Jinan's Southern Mountain area in norther China. Its purpose is to restore and protect the mountainous geological structure and ecology of the region. Protection is vital because the Southern Mountains are the source of the famous Jinan springs. Also, they contain several drinking water reservoirs and functions as the green sanctuary of the city.  As a strategy to restore and protect water resources, the masterplan provides ecologically orientated development of cities, mobility, agriculture, economy and tourism in the area. The plan has been approved by the municipality of Jinan. The Southern Mountains in Shandong is a mountain area of 600 km2. North lies Shandong’s capital Jinan. The historic centre of the city is known for over seventy natural artesian springs. South of the mountains lies the holy Thaisan mountain, as the first of the five holy mountains, where Chinese emperors through the ages took the 6293 stairs to the top to bring offers to their god at the start of their reign. In between mountain ranges, separated by three larger valleys, the landscape and water resources over the years became gradually more polluted by agriculture and urbanization. Also, the underground water systems became congested, which was a growing problem not just for water supply and environment in general, but especially for the city of Jinan. The city wants to be recognized as world heritage by UNESCO for their historic city centre and over seventy-two artesian springs. It was a necessity to restore and protect the water systems at the source. The project has started with identifying ecological sensitive areas, elements and systems in order to layer them according to urgency, importance and threat. KCAP also calculated population and land capacity and locate potential areas where production and urban developments are ...