Planner allays ventilation corridor demolition fears

Beijing's plan to construct ventilation corridors will not involve the large-scale demolition of houses, nor will it spread pollution to neighboring provinces, according to a planner involved with the project.

The municipal government announced in February that it would build five 500-meter-wide ventilation corridors in the capital, connecting parks and green spaces and promoting airflow in a bid to reduce pollution.

"The primary task of the ventilation corridors plan is to make sure existing corridors don't get blocked by new buildings, which would worsen air flow," He Yong, a senior planner with Beijing Municipal Institute of City Planning and Design, told the Economic Information Daily.

"It doesn't mean that we will tear down many buildings. We just want to make sure the city's development is more reasonable and sustainable."

According to the plan, the five corridors will be spread all over the city, including a central axis that runs from the Olympic Green in the north through to the government center of Zhongnanhai at the heart of the capital.

In addition, the planner has also designed 10 second-tier 80-meter-wide corridors and is working on a plan for third-tier smaller ones, He said.

One of the functions of these corridors is to reduce the urban heat island effect, which results from structures blocking airflow as well as excess heat produced by energy consumption and activity in the city.

He said some blockages, such as the wholesale market at Shilihe in the city's southeast, are likely to be relocated in the future.

"Ideally, the corridors of different levels will be connected to each other and form a comprehensive ventilation system," He said, adding that this exchange of air will not blow smog to neighboring provinces.

Wang Kai, deputy director of the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design, said it takes comprehensive measures to improve ventilation in a city - in addition to limiting the development of skyscrapers, it also requires more green areas and water features.