The shift in the manufacturing plants

The shift in the manufacturing plants

In a sustainable culture, people want to maintain what they have now and will pass on them to future generations. For example, people would protect existing artistic works, historical buildings, traditional food, languages, and even livable environments. By making our culture sustainable, our children will be able to carefully observe and still feel the current cultural atmosphere after a hundred years. This paper will focus on discussing how Guangzhou, one of the fastest-growing cities in China, preserves its culture, and makes it sustainable in terms of environmental protection. The city of Guangzhou has risen to be a first-tier city in China with the majority of production and shipping by local and foreign companies taking place daily. As a result, the city has increased the income and lifestyle of the local community. However, in the rapid rise in industrialization and urbanization, the environment became inhabitable due to the increase in pollution. There was a remarkable change in Guangzhou’s environmental policies that the government asked to remove a large number of plants and industries in the past decade. The majority of manufacturing industries in Guangzhou were forced to change the emission plans and ways of disposing of wastes. The national reforms in China have led to the closing of factories that fail to adhere to the standards of operations. As a result, the environment in Guangzhou has drastically changed in the recent past. As most environmentalists are interested, this paper will accordingly talk about why and how the significant shift took place and how it has impacted Guangzhou residents’ daily life. The shift of the manufacturing plants from the city to the residential areas, small towns, and third-tier cities was based on the increased restriction in Guangzhou, thus leading to pollution of the small residential areas, therefore should be rectified by creating more robust environmental policies and action on the manufacturing units similarly.

The shift in the manufacturing plants was enhanced by the increased restrictions in Guangzhou. In the early 2000s, the pollution of the city had increased, thus forcing the residents to wear masks to avoid the pollutant substances found in the smog. The town was also reported to have polluted the water bodies with plastics and company wastes. The change in the environment in the city had become a central issue of concern as misty pollution and water sources were continuously polluted. As a result, the municipality developed stringent environment policies as proposed by Greenpeace. In a research carried out by marketing and environmental experts at the University of Hong Kong explains, “after several decades of environmental protection regulations, the pro-environment orientation of environmental officials in Guangzhou has been strengthened” (Francesch-Huidobro et al., 2012, p. 2494). The development of pollution regulation has become successful in the recent past. The municipal leadership has increased surveillance of the majority of companies in the region, as highlighted in the People’s Daily. The environment supervisors, working for the municipalities, are often visiting companies to analyze their noise, water, and air pollution, and recommendations are made. The increased supervision in the city has led to an increase in better environmental practices. As a person raised in the Guangzhou region, it is evident that the city has become better and cleaner. More companies are cautious of their practices while recycling and cleaning of the wastes have become a significant part of the practices in the companies.

One of the most effective ways of regulating the carbon and sulfur emission in Guangzhou has been carbon taxation. The legal system has developed different laws that are used in determining the correct form of taxation, thus ensuring the drastic reduction in the wastes emitted by each manufacturing Centre. According to a research by an environment expert, “the grain for green programs in addition to adopting emission trading schemes to deal with pollution, china has established large-scale payment for ecosystem plans” (Turiel et al., 2017, p. 38). The system of payment has ensured that the companies held responsible are taxed and fined to ensure reduced waste in the city. In the worst cases, the companies are closing down in Guangzhou. In research on the restructuring and redevelopment of Guangzhou, the author highlights the increasing abandonment of buildings in the city as manufacturing moves to other regions and urban settings (Guoming, 2014). The drastic shift of many companies is based on urban specialization development as well as the rules on manufacturing in the cities. The development of clear restrictions and consequences of the offenders has allowed Guangzhou officials to be vigilant in the cleaning process for the systems. Although some of the private institutions have significantly challenged the systems of taxation and use of the influence in the local communities as expressed in the study, the change has been visible in the community (Turiel et al., 2017, p. 34). Unfortunately, the cleaning of the city led to the movement into other small towns and cities.

The shift of the majority of companies out of Guangzhou led to the spread of economic and industrial development in other cities. In Xintang, where I was born, the denim industry quickly developed and became the primary source of jeans globally. According to authors in the China Dialogue news site, “Xintang has a total of 4,766 jeans manufacturing and related companies, accounting for 80% of the total number of enterprises in the town. With an annual output of 300 million pieces of denim clothing, 220,000 people will be employed” (Guang et al., 2013). The spread of the companies into other regions and towns in Guangdong province meant the increased opportunities for jobs in the regions. The companies producing jeans in Xintang, among others in the different areas, created an aspect of independence of the towns from the Guangzhou area. Moreover, it reduces congestion into the city, thus making Guangzhou cleaner and better. The advancement of the companies to areas outside the city has allowed for the specialization of towns in terms of the products made in the region. Despite the rise in urbanization and industrialization, the spread of pollution continued in the less restricted areas away from Guangzhou.

The shift into smaller towns and cities has led to the advancement of pollution in the region due to lousy disposal techniques. The companies shifting from Guangzhou regions create intense air and water pollution. In Xintang, for example, “Most of the sewage from the washing water is discharged into the river without treatment. The collective sewage treatment plant in Dadun Village, Xintang Town, has been suspended for more than a year” (Guang et al., 2013). The inability of the sewerage system to clean the waste released into the rivers has led to the closing of the company, thus leaving the city in a crisis with all the waste disposed of in the region. According to an international survey in the region, it was evident that “The content of lead metals, copper, and cadmium in the river sediment samples submitted for inspection exceeded the national Soil Environmental Quality Standard” (Guang et al., 2013). The acidity of the soil has increased tremendously, thus affecting farming. Moreover, the quality of water has reduced effectiveness in the period. Unfortunately, the case of Xintang is not isolated. More residential areas around Guangzhou are affected by the shift of the manufacturing plants. A study conducted in Liwan indicates that a laundry company in the area has led to increased absentees and disturbance in Dongsha Boys school due to noise and constant air pollution (Peoples’ Daily, 2014). The laundry company which shares a wall with the education premise releases different forms of pollutants into the environment. The forms of pollution in the residential areas and small-town leads to the disruption of life in these cities, causing a low life satisfaction and lack of natural resources in the communities.

Unlike in Guangzhou, the changes in pollution in the small towns and residential areas have not been addressed. In Xintang, the environmental officials have not been vigilant in the cleaning of the city. As the analysts of the Cowboy industry crisis explains, “This environmental protection industrial park is obviously not “environmentally friendly.” Now on the main road of the industrial park, the boiler roars, the smell of sulfide is pungent, and the blue-black wastewater is deposited in the ditch outside the factory” (Guang et al., 2013). The small towns continue to be affected by the lack of a transparent system of waste disposal as well as the correct measures on waste cleaning. The jean companies have led to the clogging of pipes in Xintang, thus spilling into the rivers and other clean water sources. The locals are aware of the crisis and choose personal plans in the cleaning of the drinking water. Nonetheless, the principal city of Guangzhou, which sources water from the town, continues to use the contaminated. The contamination in the small towns leads to environmental disaster and waste consumption in the city as well. Therefore, a stringent system of cleaning should be applied to stop pollution in small towns and third-tier cities.

Sustainable culture in China can be influenced by having stringent rules in the persecution of polluting companies both in Guangzhou and surrounding communities. The increased surveillance and reporting by the local communities are essential in developing communities in which their interests are well addressed. The local municipal leaders should ensure the companies discharging wastes into the water sources and release unfiltered gases are held-accountable. In the case of the polluting company in Liwan in 2014, “the Liwan District Comprehensive Administrative Enforcement Bureau has filed a case for investigation and punishment according to law, and on March 21 made a decision to suspend production and impose a fine of 90,000 yuan” (People’s Daily, 2014). The local communities have been able to apply the law, and the company has stopped all operations; thus, the school can proceed without interruption. The government agency involved in the taxation of the companies should address other regions falling in smaller cities and towns. Increased surveillance and taxation will ensure the companies adhere to the rules as those in the cities. In the same way, the local communities should effectively report the cases of the companies engaging in activities that negatively impact the environment.

Creating a sustainable culture in Guangzhou has been effective. The city and future generations will be able to enjoy bluer skies and better water sources. The concept of building a smart city has been successful, thus efficient for the future generation in the provision of natural resources and needs for the community. However, the shift from the cities by the companies is leading to increased pollution that destroys the natural features. The movement of companies in other parts of the province is causing the pollution of the air, water, and soil. Xintang and Liwan are examples of the impacts of the shift in the companies from the first-tier cities. The small towns where specialized manufacturing takes place have led to the shortage of clean supply of water, better-looking environment, and environment preservation cultures. The cities should extend the stringent rules applied in the cities to other regions, thus curbing the rise of illegal practices by the companies. As a resident of Guangzhou, I can attest that changes in the policies on the urban industries are critical in the cleaning of the environment. Although more can be done to get a better environment for the future generation, it is evident that the local and national government policies are changing the face of Guangzhou and capable of transforming the neighboring regions.