What makes a city liveable and vibrant? Is there a "one-size-fits-all" model of such a liveable and vibrant city? Most dictionaries define"liveable" as a place fit or suitable for human living and "vibrant" as pulsing or throbbing with energy and activity. While these are fundamental
requirements for a liveable and vibrant city, they are not comprehensive in
today's context. Urban society increasingly associates "liveability" and "vibrancy" with sound governance, security, economic success, environmental
quality, neighbourhood amenity, quality of living and individual
well-being. What is our vision for a liveable and vibrant city? Emerging
from the recent economic crisis, what are the priorities of a country or
city? Is the vision for a liveable and vibrant city just an abstract theory
or it is one that we can realise? This ministerial dialogue gathers past
and present practitioners of governance, urban theorists and planners from
around the world to discuss these questions. |
- Mrs Carrie Lam, JP, Secretary for Development, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government
The Special Administrative Region (“SAR”) of Hong Kong is one of the World’s leading international financial centres, with a major capitalist economy serviced by low taxation, free trade and minimum government intervention. The 2010 edition of the World Competitiveness Yearbook ranks Hong Kong as the second most competitive economy in the world. Home to seven million people, Hong Kong has developed nine new towns since the launch of the New Town Initiative in the 1950s to decentralize the population from the over-crowded urban districts. Hong Kong is also committed to green development, with the Hong Kong Green Building Council (HKGBC) as the leading body promoting the adoption of green building standards and sustainable buildings, for a more sustainable Hong Kong. We would like to invite Mrs Carrie Lam to share with us the challenges faced in the development of a land scarce city, as well as Hong Kong’s strategies to enhance the city’s liveability and vibrancy.
- Hon. Robinson Njeru Githae, Minister of Nairobi Metropolitan Development, Kenya
In the past few years, the Ministry of Nairobi Metropolitan Development of Kenya has managed to finalize on a Blue Print strategy named 'The Nairobi Metro 2030'. This strategy aims to develop the Nairobi Metro Region into a World Class Metroplis. This strategy had identified seven key areas, which the Hon. Minister Robinson Njeru Githae will discuss in the panel. The Metro Region has had no Spatial Plan to guide the development and management of urban growth. This year the Ministry has managed through international bidding to put in a conceptual spatial framework which will guide the development and investment priorities within the Nairobi Metro Region. Hon. Minister will also provide an overview of development challenges affecting the Metro Region.
- Ms Elżbieta Bieńkowska, Minister of Regional Development, Poland
Poland is one of the fastest growing economies in the European Union. During the observed 2009 global economy slowdown Poland managed to keep its growth rate at a stable level avoiding decline in its GDP that could be noticed in so many countries around the world. Last year Poland observed the greatest GDP growth in the European Union and since then it has been known as a green island at the European Union map where the declines of the GDP in the rest of the Community countries were marked in red.
Poland may stand for an example of not only a healthy modern European economy but also of a successful change from centrally planned economy to fully free market capitalistic Western-style economy.
The transformation of the last twenty years after the fall of the Communist regime is also a history of transformation of the Polish cities and their inhabitants. It’s a story of struggle and success in modernisation of Poland and Polish cities that straightforwardly led to Poland’s accession to the European Union in 2004 which confirmed Polish position as a fully democratic society.
Together with acceding to the European Union Poland has been given a great civilization opportunity of development. The European Structural Funds directed to Poland within the 2007 – 2013 European Union financial perspective amount to 67 billion euros. Many of the actions financed by the European Funds are aimed at the broadly understood development of the cities; their infrastructure or environmental situation, which in consequence leads to the improvement of generally defined living conditions in the cities.
Minister Elżbieta Bieńkowska will share on the transformation of Poland, how this transformation has contributed to the liveability and vibrancy of the country and her views on the way forward for Poland's many cities.
- The Right Honourable Mr Lim Guan Eng, Chief Minister of Penang, Malaysia
The Malaysian state of Penang is the third-largest economy in Malaysia after Selangor and Johor, with manufacturing contributing to the largest share of the economy. It is also Malaysia’s second-busiest port. Penang’s governance is based on the principles of Competency, Accountability and Transparency (CAT), garnering praise from Transparency International for its commitment to good governance. Georgetown (the capital of Penang) has also been listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, and officially recognised as having a unique architectural and cultural townscape without parallel anywhere in East and Southeast Asia. We would like to invite Mr Lim Guan Eng to share on his strategies in governance he has adopted to ensure the economic success of Penang, at the same time balancing this with the preservation of the unique heritage character of Georgetown.
- Prof Dr Marat R Safiullin, Minister of Economy, Republic of Tatarstan, Russia
Tatarstan is one of the most economically developed regions of Russia. Prof Dr Marat R Safiullin will offer his insights on how Tatarstan grades the importance of economic development in building a liveable and vibrant city and share the latest economic developments in Tatarstan and the challenges faced in managing the many competing priorities and demands of a nation.
- Dr John So, Former Lord Mayor Melbourne, Australia
Melbourne has consistently been rated as one of the most liveable cities in the world. In the Economist Intelligence Units global liveability report released in January 2010, Australian cities (Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Adelaide) accounted for four of the top ten spots in the liveability ranking. As a former mayor of Melbourne in Australia, Dr John So will share with us his thoughts and past experiences on how cities can lead the way in liveability and vibrancy. In doing so, he would like to stimulate discussions on the principles and transformations needed to provide a dynamic and high quality of life to city living.
- Dr Jaime Lerner, Former Mayor of Curitiba, Brazil; former Governor Parana State, Brazil; and former President of the International Union of Architects
In 2010 Curitiba was awarded with the Globe Sustainable City Award that was set to underline cities and municipalities, which excel in sustainable urban development around the world. In 2007, the city was placed third in a list of "15 Green Cities" in the world, according the U.S. magazine "Grist.", after Reykjavik in Iceland and Portland in the United States. Curitiba is also considered one of the best examples of urban planning worldwide. In June 1996, the chairman of the Habitat II summit of mayors and urban planners in Istanbul praised Curitiba as "the most innovative city in the country." Curitiba was recommended by UNESCO as one of the city-model for the reconstruction of the cities of Afghanistan, after the U.S. invaded in 2001. We would like to invite Dr Jaime Lerner to share the three most important attributes that have contributed to these successes and, moving forward, how can this success be replicated in other cities in Brazil and other cities?
- Mr Tom Murphy, former Mayor of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA & Senior Fellow, Klingbeil Family Chair, Urban Land Institute
The City of Pittsburgh was once described “as hell with the lid off” but now finds itself ranked first as the most liveable community in the U.S. in 2009 by The Economist and Forbes magazine in 2010. How does that happen? How does a city change over the past fifty years from being one of the most environmentally degraded places, with polluted air, water and land to a city recognized for its liveability, clean environment, green architecture and diverse employment opportunities? The catalyst for Pittsburgh’s transformation has been strong civic leadership and engagement in public/private partnerships. The latter strategies include: partnering with university and hospital research institutions to become the economic drivers in the city, the commitment of public and private resources to clean the environment, the redevelopment of old industrial properties into waterfront parks, adding commercial and housing developments and investment in arts and culture. Mr Tom Murphy will share more on these approaches which have successfully reshaped Pittsburgh into the recognizable and liveable city that it is today.
|
