The Team was commissioned alongside the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design (CAUPD) to develop the Beibu Gulf City Group Resource Security and Nanning City Eco and Low Carbon Development Strategy for the Beibu Gulf City Group, a group of six cities covering an area of over 72,700km2.

The aim of the study was to create a long term development strategy for a region of China which has significant natural and cultural assets that are at risk due to rapid economic development and regional competition. The project consisted of five stages of increasingly detailed work. The initial stage focused on the role of the Beibu Gulf City Group within the wider regional and international context, with particular focus on its natural and cultural assets and associated opportunities.

The subsequent stages focused on the creation of a development strategy for the prefecture level city of Nanning, covering an area of 22,112 km2 with a population of nearly 8 million people. The Eco and Low Carbon Urban Development Strategy for Nanning will guide a city which balances the increasing global resource scarcity, climate change and unprecedented economic competition with the need to protect its natural assets and provide a high quality of life for its residents.