Advanced Manufacturing and Sustainable Urban Development

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1000-0232.2016.05.023

Abstract：AbSTRAcT Industry 4.0 [17, 18, 28], the Industrial Internet[15, 16], and Made in China 2025[3] are three topics of high economic relevance that touch on the future of current international value networks. The three approaches to Advanced Manufacturing aim at a forthcoming “fourth industrial revolution,” which is based on the progressing digitalization process across al industries and services (cf. e.g., Ref.[4]). These long-term plans and strategies are based on technologies that are available today, namely Cyber-Physical Systems, the Internet of Things, distributed software services, and Cloud Computing. They are highly dependent on the availability of adequate digital infrastructures and wel-functioning logistics systems, and they have a number of repercussions for cities and regions. Accordingly, it is surprising that little work has been done to date on the interrelations between urban development and Advanced Manufacturing, as global manufacturing and logistics wil lead to substantial changes during the implementation of the respective manufacturing strategies. Urban-connected, sustainable, and economic activities in the industrial sector wil have to be adapted to new local, regional, and global ICT-based value and logistics chains. Therefore, this paper addresses a new field of academic and practical interest in an explorative way, as there is neither sufficient scientific nor practical experience worldwide on the relation between Advanced Manufacturing and urban development. As a first step, this paper attempts to develop an initial hypothesis on the topic rather than providing data-driven or case-based analytical evidence. We discuss Advanced Manufacturing (1) in the contexts ofquality of growth, (2)the green urban economy,and (3)sustainable urban development, as defined and interpreted by the German International Development Cooperation (GIZ)[10, 11]. While the green urban economy and the sustainable development of metropolitan regions are closely linked with the quality of growth approach, they have a wider scope and transfer quality of growth to an urban context. High-quality economic growth is seen as a prerequisite for productive and decent employment, which is in turn crucial for poverty eradication and for the promotion of equitable economic and social development[10]. The GIZ has defined the folowing dimensions of high-quality growth: ·Smart growth: The promotion of productivity and competitiveness by encouraging the development of a knowledge- and innovation-based economy. ·Sustainable growth: Environmental sustainability in which the economic development of one generation does not constitute a burden to future generations, as wel as the transition to a green economy. ·Inclusive/shared growth: The productive participation of al sectors of society in economic processes. ·Resilient growth: The reduction of economic volatility and mitigation of vulnerability to economic crises and their impacts. ·Integrated growth: Improvement of the framework conditions for the cross-border exchange of goods and services. ·Governance for growth: The establishment of strong institutions and transparent, participatory decision-making processes. These dimensions provide a valuable framework and are used here as a guideline for our analysis. In respect to smart growth, Advanced Manufacturing concepts wil clearly contribute to the concept of smart manufacturing ecosystems. The Green Urban Economy is a concept that translates the international and national debates about a green economy to the urban context in order to address urban stakeholders. It is based on the assumption that, in a future where the world is predominantly urban, cities should be pioneers of the transition to a green economy. Key elements of a Green Urban Economy as defined by the GIZ include the folowing [2]: ·Inclusive economic growth: “Future growth strategies must no longer focus on quantitative goals alone. Rather, there must be qualitative growth that benefits broad sections of the population. In cities in particular, there is a growing gap between rich and poor, and there are growing groups that do not enjoy adequate social and economic participation.”[2] ·Environmental compatibility: “It is essential that economic growth be decoupled from resource consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. This can be done, for example, by encouraging innovation and environmentaly sound technologies. Thanks to their high population density, cities offer opportunities for the establishment of efficient infrastructure networks.” [2] ·Poverty reduction:“Inclusive, ecologicaly sound growth must be geared toward reducing poverty and giving people opportunities in life. This needs to result in more income opportunities, especialy in the low-income sector and in the urban informal sector, and improved access to basic municipal services for the poor and in informal settlements.”[2] The sustainable development of metropolitan regions is an approach that responds to the needs of urban agglomerations and metropolitan regions and seeks to improve their governance structures. Four priority multi-sectoral areas have been defined as relevant by the GIZ[2]: ·Metropolitan regions as innovative business regions: “Metropolitan regions provide a venue for the exchange of goods and information between local, national and global businesses. They attract knowledge-based companies and they promote and implement new ideas that facilitate sustainable economic activity. For this to happen, however, it is essential to create an appropriate framework.” [2] ·Metropolitan regions as inclusive labor markets and residential centers:“By virtue of their economic growth, metropolitan regions provide a wide range of services and jobs from which poor people can also benefit…”[2]. ·Metropolitan regions as dense “nexus” networks: “With so many people and so much production and consumption concentrated in one area, metropolitan regions devour tremendous amounts of energy and natural resources. However, given the tightly woven geographical and sectoral links that exist in metropolitan regions, there are good oppor-tunities for improving the efficiency of their material and energy cycles…”[2]. ·Metropolitan regions as governance systems: “New governance structures are needed for urban agglomerations in order to organize and control the multi-sectoral chalenges they face…”[2]. Al three of the approaches described above— the quality of growth, the green urban economy, and sustainable urban development—share a number of overlaps and linkages. Whereas the quality of growth approach is focused on economic development in general, the concepts of green urban economy and sustainable development of metropolitan regions translate the quality of growth into the urban development context. Therefore, we use the quality of growth approach as a basis for the analysis.