Session Summaries
THINKING AHEAD, BUILDING TOGETHER
Organized by the
NEW CITIES FOUNDATION Paris 14-15-16 May
Table of contents
Defining Urbanites: how we became a city species and why it matters......................................... 6 Governing the Metropolis: new forms of governance for 21st century cities................................... 8 The Annotated City: digital storytelling in the urban age............................................................. 10 Citywalla: a look at urban India............................................................................................ 12 Portrait of an Urban World : facts, figures and the future............................................................ 14 Global Cities Investment Monitor........................................................................................... 16 Urban Innovation: Festival of Ideas for the New City................................................................. 17 Interactive session: Navigating the Meta-City........................................................................... 18 Securing Investments for the Urban Century: how do we pay for the urban boom?.......................... 20 Ciudades Latinas: urban Latin America................................................................................... 22 Hard and Software Cities.................................................................................................... 24 Urban Innovation: Waze..................................................................................................... 26 Urban Innovation: EkoBus.................................................................................................... 27 The Just City...................................................................................................................... 28 Greener Districts................................................................................................................. 30 City Dwellers on the Move: the future of urban transportation and mobility.................................... 32 AppMyCity! Presentations.................................................................................................... 34 A Glimpse into Future Cities..................................................................................................36 A Closer Look at Urban China: towards the urban billion........................................................... 38 Modern Urban Utopias: a conversation with the builders of new cities.......................................... 42 Capitalising Creativity......................................................................................................... 44 Gala Dinner Keynote Speech................................................................................................46 Partnering for Better Cities.................................................................................................... 48 Urban Innovation: Ciudad Saludable..................................................................................... 50 Urban Innovation: Isla Urbana.............................................................................................. 51 HydroCity: urban water....................................................................................................... 52 Greater Paris: reinventing the City of Light............................................................................... 54 City Shops: the future of urban retail in the digital age............................................................... 56 Call to Action: Thinking Ahead, Building Together.................................................................... 58
THINKING AHEAD, BUILDING TOGETHER For the first time in our history, we are a world of cities - and this is just the beginning. By 2050, the global urban population will reach 7 billion people, double the number living in cities today. We are only just starting to grasp the significance of this phenomenon. What is certain is that the scale and pace of global urbanization is unprecedented and its impact will be felt in all spheres of human life. This urban world comes with complex new environmental, economic and social challenges. It also represents a unique opportunity to build more sustainable, vibrant, innovative, and equitable communities, particularly in rapidlyurbanizing regions of the world. The inaugural New Cities Summit, organized by the NEW CITIES
FOUNDATION, took place in Paris from 14-16 May 2012. The Summit aims to place the city at the heart of the global discussion. This event is new in both content and form. It mixes high-level conversations featuring some of the most recognized global urban thought leaders and decision makers -- mayors, CEOs and business leaders, academics, architects, technologists, media leaders and entrepreneurs -- with innovative demos and interactive thematic workshops. Workshop topics at this inaugural edition included: mobility, the creative and connected city, the just city, water, greener buildings, infrastructure finance, and regional sessions. China, India and Latin America as well as the Greater Paris region are particular focus areas. The Summit also highlighted the modern urban utopias and experimental cities that are a rich urban laboratory for future cities. The theme of the 2012 Summit was Thinking Ahead, Building Together, reflecting the Foundation’s belief that understanding and contributing to our common urban future will require audacity, analysis and, above all, partnership. The Foundation, working closely with a rich and diverse ecosystem of members and partners, hopes that all participants at the Summit and those watching the sessions and reading the content online, are inspired and equipped to make positive change. Our best chance to build a better world is to build better cities together.
Click here to watch the highlights of the New Cities Summit 2012: http:// bit.ly/ Ki7Agn
Speakers Wim Elfrink Executive Vice President, Cisco
Ajit Gulabchand Chairman and Managing Director, Hindustan Construction Group
Gregor Robertson Mayor of Vancouver
Defining Urbanites: how we became a city species and why it matters
Geoffrey West Distinguished Professor and Past President, Santa Fe Institute
Opening Plenary Session, Monday 14 May, 09:50 - 11:00
Moderator Edwin Heathcote
Overview •
We have to deal with the swift urbanization of new cities,
Architecture and Design critic, Financial Times
and retro-fit old cities •
Cities are, and always have been, about the clustering of people
•
Digital solutions and technological innovations are undoubtedly speeding up our human interactions in cities and should be embraced in ways that contribute to inclusive growth
Setting the tone for the next three days of the Summit, the panelists engaged the crowd in their conversation about the future of our urban worlds from a variety of international perspectives. 6
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Geoffrey West introduced the stakes of
Wim Elfrink reflected on the
urbanization with a discussion about the science
unprecedented rate of change in relation to
of cities. Determining the science of cities is about
urbanization and technology. Technological
applying much of what we know about the natural
innovations and integrated virtual solutions, he
world to the organism of the city. The surprising
asserts, is becoming a new norm that should be
science behind the superlinear behavior of cities
embraced. Examples of the Korean aerotropolis
or, “the bigger, the more per capita,” revealed the
paradigm and Rio’s integrated operation center
need to innovate faster and faster to accommodate
reiterated the fact that the future of work and
the sustainable growth of the world’s cities.
clustering in cities will be, and is irrefutably becoming, digital. This change will take place
Mayor Robertson discussed various
quickly, as virtualization is fast and cities must
aspects of Vancouver’s citizens and their networks.
constantly reinvent themselves. Because of this,
Urban dwellers increasingly demand more from
cities must embrace ICT as an asset and see it as
cities than mere services - they demand “moments
a sustainable differentiator.
of inspiration.” The Mayor highlighted how Vancouver foresees their sustainable development framework as a win-win-win scenario for community, environment, and the city’s economy, and later alluded to the role of technology in steering us down a more sustainable path. Ajit Gulabchand contributed a critical perspective from the developing world, urging that the problems encountered by cities in India, for example, be included in the dialogue about how to build our cities. The relatively recent development of Mumbai and other Indian cities over the last two hundred years leaves Indian developers few models for governing and managing cities. Public-private partnerships were cited as the “the only way we can actually evolve.” Quoting Marx, Gulabchand explained that Lavasa functions as one attempt “to relieve Indian dwellers of their awkwardness and boredom.”
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Speakers Stephen Goldsmith Professor, Harvard Kennedy School; Former Mayor of Indianapolis
Patrick Le Galès Professor, SciencesPo Paris
Anil Menon President, Globalisation and Smart+Connected Communities, Cisco Systems
Governing the Metropolis: new forms of governance for 21st century cities
Anthony Williams Lecturer, Harvard Kennedy School; Former Mayor of Washington, DC
Monday 14 May, 11:45 - 01:00
Moderator Mathieu Lefevre
Overview •
To overcome the traditional ways of governing,
Executive Director, New Cities Foundation
encouraging participation of all the different stakeholders involved in the urban world •
To moderate the idea of transferring best practices and replicable ideas
•
To bring to attention the role of mayors and elected authorities to create and regulate the public realm where decision-making processes take place.
Patrick Le Galès introduced the discussion on traditional ideas that need to be moderated, concerning how the large metropolis can be governed. First, people are mobile and cities are 8
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changing rapidly, yet some urban structures are
idea that it might be interesting and enriching for
stable and evolve very slowly throughout time.
our cities to re-invent PPP processes because it
Governing is complex and having strong
does not always create the context for the right
institutions can help. However, the capacity to
innovation. He also stressed the fact that it’s
govern is about implementing the decisions made
becoming a main challenge for cities to keep their
by institutions through the decision-making process.
own identity. His last point brought to light the role
Who is implementing, for whom, and under which
of technology that can empower people and give
conditions are three crucial questions analysts
the capacities to disrupt old ways of making cities.
need to take into account for understanding how
Stephen Goldsmith pointed out the
the city is re-inventing itself. Le Galès brought
necessity to introduce incremental and more brutal
attention to the dangers of replicable best
changes in order to overcome traditional ways of
practices and the need of developing collective
governing and to avoid corruption and
action at the local level for better policy
indiscretion.
implementation and more transparency.
To do so, the ability to listen and
communicate with the civil society is essential to
Generalizing practices might be very debatable
anticipate issues and to find innovative solutions.
because territories have their own specificities.
Moreover, he emphasized the need to incorporate
Tony Williams highlighted the role of
a wide variety of stakeholders in the understanding
elected officials in developing and regulating
of governance.
interactions in the public realm, in creating trust, long-term perspectives and real-time solutions. ‘As a mayor, you have to come up with real solutions in deconstructing the reality and trying to disrupt classical ways of governing.’ Moreover, Williams insisted on the idea that creating a virtuous circle necessitates better management information, allowing the variety of stakeholders to have a better understanding of how a city is governed. The nature of governance is changing. Anil Menon believes that urban stakeholders are currently revitalizing the city without always changing the layers. Political conflicts linked to a wide variety of actors and approaches bring to the fore the role of mayors and elected officials as referees in the public realm. He concluded on the 9
Speakers Charlie Hale Public Policy and Government Affairs Lead, Maps and Research, Google
Jean-Louis Missika Deputy Mayor of Paris for Innovation
Alessandra Orofino Co-Founder, Meu Rio
The Annotated City: digital storytelling in the urban age Monday 14 May, 11:45 - 01:00
Moderator Steve Baker
Overview
Author of The Numerati
The annotated city allows us to communicate in different ways. Now that we have technology in our hands, we create stories about a city through the simple touch of a mobile device. However, this raises questions about what kind of information is going to be in our cities and who will make money off of this information. All panelists were in agreement that no one can predict the new annotations, so Charlie Hale proposed that open data can prove to be an answer. Open data improves civic governance, provides usefulness to consumers, and drives economic growth. The power of openness is very important, and Google recognizes that there is rich knowledge in the crowd of citizens. Therefore, opening yourself as a company, or a government, to this kind of openness 10
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will result in a multitude of innovations that cannot
Their free labor, in a way, helps companies like
be predicted. The crowd is now making our
Google, and city governments, like the City of
annotations, and there is an economic reason to
Paris, build powerful platforms. Meu Rio strives to
use this information, as well as civic hope.
make people aware of the power they have, to help people tell their own stories, and encourages
Jean-Louis Missika explained that if
citizens to curate their own information rather than
cities have been annotated for centuries, for
letting a few choose the data we use. The type of
example, through street signs or graffiti, the main
data also matters. While some data is given
difference is that today there is a mash-up of
freely, other critical pieces of information are not
information rather than a divide between
being released to people with the same ease.
information produced by the people and by
Because of this, people should demand the
government. Because of this, open data and
information that matters to them.
technology obliges city governments to interact with citizens, who are making tags online.
The discussion raised points to be thought of
However, a difficulty arises when you co-innovate
concerning the future of the annotated city. What
a city, as everyone in the city adopts the position
are the implications of this phenomenon on privacy
of “decision-maker”, rather than a select few.
issues? What infrastructure is needed to provide
Cities are now obliged to keep the old, but make
people with the tools for the annotated city, such
room for the new. However, making room for the
as free WiFi? Is access to information equal, or
new is not always welcome. For Missika, leading
are social inequalities further deepening? Overall,
the open data policy of Paris is not easy because
the role of data, and how governments, big
some leaders do not want to give away data
companies and citizens decide to handle its
freely, especially financial data. Because of this,
delicacy and transparency will affect the future of
Paris has started giving away geographical
how urban dwellers live in their city.
information first. Alessandra Orofino represented a critical perspective of the people, or “the new power.” Through Meu Rio, Orofino advocates for the voices of the people in Rio de Janeiro that are not being heard by encouraging their participation in the city. Part of the citizens’ fight in having their voice heard is fought in the realm of information. In this aspect, crowd-sourcing has changed the balance of power. Now, big companies and city governments are relying on people for their input. 11
Speakers Bharati Chaturvedi Founder and Director, Chintan
Manjeet Kripalani Executive Director, Gateway House
Annat Jain Managing Partner, Acropolis Capital Group
Citywalla: a look at urban India
V Ravichandar Co-Founder, City Connect Foundations in Bangalore, Chennai, and Pune
Monday 14 May, 11:45 - 01:00
Moderator
Overview
Pamela Puchalski
Urban governance is a key challenge facing India’s cities today. In dealing with the current and future challenges of urbanization, deeper collaboration and partnership between the
Senior Consultant, Bennett Midland; Advisor, Global Cities Initiative, The Brookings Institution
public sector, the private sector and all levels of civil society is acutely needed. Efforts must establish a framework of cooperation and a platform for sharing expertise and information across sectors. In order to respond more effectively to local needs, municipal governments should have greater autonomy and responsibility in shaping urban development policies, allowing for locally developed initiatives. The founding principles and models of successful projects, such as Chintan, must be identified and translated into other locally adapted programs, scaling the impact of new and innovative solutions to urban challenges.
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Manjeet Kriplani focused on the
and contributions must be recognized and valued
importance of innovation, and especially “low-
by the private and public sector in mitigating the
tech” innovation that is affordable, adaptable and
environmental waste and degradation that so often
appropriate, as a key driver of sustainable urban
accompanies rapid urban expansion.
development. Talent and innovation are aggregated in India’s cities, especially in socially diverse areas, where new products and processes contribute to a more efficient and livable urban environment. Based on his experience in developing partnerships between local industry and government institutions, V. Ravichandar highlighted the fact that local industry stakeholders have not been much engaged in productive “governance” conversations and the only way for key urban problems to be solved is through an effective platform for expertise sharing and exchange. Chennai City Connect has created a model which facilitates these types of interactions between the private sector and local government institutions. Coming from the perspective of private land developers, Annat Jain brought to light the ways in which development is hampered by a public sector which is highly over-regulated, badly administered and with lagging enforcement. He stressed the important role of private interests in the development of healthy urban centers, without which cities could hardly emerge. According to Bharati Chaturvedi, it is essential to meet the social and environmental challenges faced by urban India by incorporating the capabilities of the informal sector. Their needs 13
Speakers Ricky Burdett Director, LSE Cities and Urban Age
Greg Clark UK Minister for Decentralisation and Cities
Daniel Libeskind Architect, Studio Daniel Libeskind
Portrait of an Urban World: facts, figures, and the future
Hans Vestberg President and CEO, Ericsson
Plenary Session, Monday 14 May, 14:30 - 15:30
Moderator Richard Quest
Overview In a discussion led by Richard Quest, high profile speakers
International Correspondent, CNN
from diverse backgrounds commented on some of the central challenges faced by the urban world today. Panelists elicited what they saw as the most significant trends impacting urban development and what is needed in addressing these. Hans Vestberg described the increasingly networked society that has emerged from innovations in ICT and the widespread dispersion of these technologies. Not only has this had major impacts on social and economic structures globally but it may present solutions to pressing urban challenges, for example via digital healthcare and education.
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From the public policy perspective, Greg
people, they are not about buildings or
Clark advocated for increasingly decentralized
abstract façades. It is from the ground
governance structures that leave more room for
level that we have to think of the city –
local leadership and autonomy at the metropolitan
Libeskind
level.
•
Many success cases have been cities that
In discussing the challenges he has faced in
go back to the human side of the city,
bringing large architectural projects to completion,
rather than making space more
Daniel Libeskind focused on the need for
anonymous – Clark
collaboration between a wide range of actors. The greatest difficulty lies in creating consensus Financing issues
and bringing diverse stakeholders together around a vision. This will only happen when projects are
•
deeply rooted in the historical and cultural roots of
New combinations of innovative financing tools are needed for funding
a city.
urban projects.
Ricky Burdett refocused the conversation
•
around the realities facing a major number of city
We’re at a tipping point with great opportunities, but actors are more risk
dwellers today. With over 30% of the world’s
averse.
urban population living in slums without access to the most basic of services, the need for more socially inclusive political decision making
Decision making processes
processes is essential for sustainable urban governance systems.
•
Tension exists between different levels of government, as epitomized by a brief but
Following the opening statements of
intense discussion between the new
panelists, a discussion ensued focusing on key
Mayor of Liverpool and Mr. Clark.
themes: •
Connectivity and accessibility in transport infrastructure are of major concern.
Socio-cultural dynamics •
•
•
Collaborative action is needed to
Successful development must incorporate
empower people to participate in local
real human needs at a human scale.
initiatives.
“Without the cultural aspect of development, cities fail.” Cities are about 15
Global Cities Investment Monitor Monday 14 May, 15:30 - 15:45
Overview Based on the Global Cities Investment Monitor findings, a synopsis of international trends in urban investment demonstrates that “global cities” continue to be hubs of concentration for inward international investment, accounting for one in every five investments
Speaker Pierre Simon Chairman, Greater Paris Investment Agency
in 2011. In contrast to perceptions based on panel studies of the most important cities for investment, the top-ten cities were widely dispersed globally, including three Chinese cities in the top five investment hubs, and Sao Paulo and Moscow in the top ten. Investments are thus far from being polarized between the ‘West’ and ‘China’. International competition for finance has never been as intense, and it is in the world’s most globally connected cities that this competition takes place. The presentation concluded with a brief discussion of Paris as a strategic business center in Europe and its role in the world economy. There is a gap between common perceptions of Paris and the economic reality, being ranked first in Europe by GDP and third in the world in terms of Fortune 500 companies. Additionally, significant investments will be made in the Grand Paris project in the coming years. Finally, shifts in global investment patterns can be evidenced by the changes taking place in international investment in Paris. Investments from Asia now account for up to 25% of foreign investments in the city.
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Urban Innovation Festival of Ideas for the New City Monday 14 May, 15:45 - 16:00
Speakers Lisa Phillips Founding Director, Festival of Ideas for the New City
Karen Wong Co-director, Festival of Ideas for the New City
Overview The Festival of Ideas for the New City, held from May 4 to 8, 2011, is a collaborative action advocating cultural investment for better cities. The partnership aims to bring together eleven New York City Downtown cultural institutions with two hundred cultural, educational and community organizations. With the idea that cultural actors can be the most powerful agents of change, the groups bring together artists, architects, and urban planners. Three main components composed the Festival. A conference held by Rem Koolhaas took place the first day. Next, 115 vendors, who were local artists, designers and representatives from the Third Sector, animated the StreetFest, which presented exhibitions, performances and projects in more than one hundred cultural spaces. Seventy thousand people came to visit the Festival. The success of this event led to the organization of new versions of the Festival of Ideas to be held in Istanbul, in Sao Paulo, and in New York in May 2013.
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Speakers Gianluca Brugnoli Creative Director, frog
Rob McIntosh Creative Director, frog
Navigating the Meta-City Monday 14 May, 16:45 - 18:00
Overview Comprehensive data collection, construction, and sharing across sectors and disciplines are crucial to the realization of the meta city. This session explored the various layers of data that exist in the
Interactive session
city before embarking on an interactive exercise in informationsharing and data production. The city, it is argued through the metacity paradigm, is decoupling people from the computing experience and becoming the computer itself. The introduction of a public data infrastructure is creating comprehensive data across disciplines while maintaining a strong connection to urban folklore. Meta-cities, in essence, will be become an extension of our senses. The premise of the exercise was that smart cities connect smart people. The data stored in the meta-city is full of opportunities, meanings, and connections, which were explored through four 18
Video coming soon to the NEW CITIES FOUNDATION YouTube channel
database stations. These docking stations and their accompanying moderators facilitated idea-sharing among various experts and stakeholders around the topics of smart buildings, smart transactions, smart mobility, and smart sociality. At the end of the simulation, screens displayed the ideas and information collected and moderators briefed all participants on the aggregated outputs. It turned out that the definition of the word “smart� given by participants had to do primarily with outputs. Smart cities mean cities that give you back something of value in proportion to the data you put in or provide. Smart sociality was discussed in terms of its capacity to bridge the digital divide whereas smart buildings were conceptualized as linking building with technology. This new model created a valuable new interface with the inputs of pertinent and diverse actors that might not otherwise have collaborated at this level.
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Speakers Thomas H. Green Managing Director Head, Infrastructure Group, Citi
Lady Barbara Judge Chairman of the UK Pension Protection Fund
Li Dongming General Manager, China Development Bank Capital Urban Fund
Securing Investments for the Urban Century: how do we pay for the urban boom?
Christian Sautter Deputy Mayor of Paris for Economic Development
Moderator
Monday 14 May, 16:45 - 18:00
Ulysse Gosset Foreign Affairs Commentator, BFM TV
Overview •
National governments are not in the position to fund city infrastructure any longer, so cities must think of creative ways to finance their own projects.
•
The involvement of the private sector in a PPP may be a key option in the financing of new projects.
•
The Chinese context provides a different example due to its state-owned land tenure and its implications on spatial development.
•
Cities must work to carry out projects that attract foreign investment and capital, and enhance life for its citizens, such as greener districts. 20
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Lady Barbara Judge explained that
Such a complex land tenure system is
because governments do not have the money to
unsustainable for financing cities. Therefore, the
pay for their entire infrastructure projects, the
Fund aims to develop innovative financing tools
Pension Fund provides a means through which the
through the creation of joint ventures with local
UK administration can do so. Through this means,
governments and private actors.
there is less risk involved, investments are asset-
development of green districts and involvement of
backed, and the levy paid by the pensioner is a
foreign investors, they aim to attract quality capital
safe investment. Lady Judge hopes that once the
and to make the city vibrant by integrating industry
Fund becomes self-sufficient, it will attract foreign
with the well-being of the city.
investment and go international.
Through the
Christian Sautter stressed the importance
Thomas Green asserted that there are
of investment for a world city today. In Paris,
trillions of dollars in private capital ready to be
investments are poured into public transportation
invested into city infrastructure, but new
and reducing private vehicles, public housing, and
mechanisms are needed to secure this capital on a
innovation through research. For him, innovation is
long-term basis. The municipal market in the U.S.
the key to attracting investment to your city, but it is
provides the potential for cities to raise their own
not enough. The involvement of private money is
revenues for infrastructure projects on a sub-
key and this institutional set up of PPPs has long
sovereign basis, especially because national
been used in the French urban tradition. Paris is
governments today are too burdened by debt. For
attractive because of the amount of space that
Green, this municipal bond model is exportable
may be used for foreign investment and
and has the potential to succeed in other cities.
development. The problem is, he says, that Paris retains a “romantic” reputation, so that it is not
Li Dongming gave his perspective on
typically associated with the image of a “business
investment and planning in the context of Chinese
hub.”
cities, which are facing massive urbanization. Rapid economic growth has had great
Overall, cities must be able to attract
implications on the spatial development of cities in
investment to keep up with urban growth and the
China, primarily due to the lack of good
implications of a lack of infrastructure. Moreover,
management or planning.
Now that the central
cities are in competition with one another to attract
government has recognized the importance of
the best innovators, minds, and foreign
orderly development, they are playing a larger
companies. This need for investment drives cities to
role. However, the organization of China in terms
make themselves more attractive, whether through
of investment and financing is still in a transition
investment in an efficient public transportation
period and based on “land-fiscality,” where state-
system or through the creation of leisurely green
owned land pushes urbanization and financing.
spaces. 21
Speakers Jorge Abrahao President, Instituto Ethos
Mariana Alegre General Coordinator, Lima Como Vamos
Antonio Celia President, Promigas
Janaina Herrera
Ciudades Latinas: urban Latin America
Advisor, New Cities Foundation
Monday 14 May, 16:45 - 18:00
Moderator
Overview
Ricky Burdett
Latin American cities are more and more innovative in improving decision-making and government accountability, and
Director, LSE Cities and Urban Age
incorporating civil society in the information transfer process. Antonio Celia provided a striking example of how a city – Barranquilla, Colombia – has faced economic and social difficulties for many years and tackled all these challenges thanks to Como Vamos, which is composed of a group of entrepreneurs. This organization’s main aim is to develop a precise expertise through the development of a wide number of indicators, allowing them to evaluate public policies and actions. This permitted them to promote investment in this territory with more transparency and more dialogue between stakeholders. The second cornerstone of this organization is
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to diffuse its expertise at the local level and inform
aimed to demonstrate the potential of e-health
the communities about their territory.
technology for improving current and future health services in urban metropolises by addressing the
Ricky Burdett contributed to the debate
economic, social and physical obstacles to access
by questioning in more detail how the program
healthcare in underserved communities and
was led and how the success claimed by Antonio
populations. General Electric provided community
Celia can be demonstrated. Mariana Alegre
workers in the favela with a mobile health kit,
exposed the case study of the same organization –
containing equipment able to collect and transmit
Como Vamos – in Lima. Again, she insisted on the
health data to the nearest clinic. The benefits are
importance of raising expectations and awareness
immediate for the patients and for the overall
through better indicators and measurement about
medical system.
what is going on in this city. She showed that involving media in the common stakeholders’
The sustainability of all these movements and
discussion and negotiation is a powerful channel
their actions has been questioned because it might
of information for local communities. This network
also be related to change in political elections and
has the power to understand the needs of the
the lack of political support. All the speakers agree
people, to communicate them and to develop
on the fact that if civil society and the private
policy recommendations.
sector work together to define their needs and their solutions, national governments should follow in
Jorge Abrahao presented the Brazilian
the decision-making processes.
case study of the platform for an inclusive, green and responsible economy developed by Ethos Institute. It aims to develop new tools and new indicators to integrate new actors, such as businesses, in the public realm. It has also helped many mayors and elected officials to politically commit to new ways of creating the city. Janaina Herrera presented the m-health pilot project in the favela of Dona Marta, Rio de Janeiro, led by the New Cities Foundation. She started by stating that Rio is a city that has a rapidly aging population with limited mobility. This pilot project is based on anticipation of similar health trends in other important emerging urban centers over the next twenty years. This case study 23
Speakers Greg Clark UK Minister for Decentralisation and Cities
Parag Khanna Senior Fellow, New America Foundation
John Rice Vice Chairman, GE; President and CEO GE Global Growth and Operations
Hard and Software Cities
Jonathan Woetzel
Plenary Session, Tuesday 15 May, 09:00 - 10:00
Co-Chair, Urban China Initiative; Senior Director, McKinsey&Co.
Overview The opening plenary session of the second day attempted to gauge the pressures and opportunities presented by the increasing integration of hardware and software in cities. Mobility and access,
Moderator Diane Brady Senior Editor and Content Chief, Bloomberg Businessweek
basic infrastructure needs and issues of governance within an environment of ever more sophisticated ICT technologies were recurring themes in the conversation.
Key points •
New “soft” infrastructures offer major opportunities for creating urban systems that allow for a better flow of information between users and providers.
•
Technology can give us “smart” systems that reduce cost and energy use while increasing transparency in the 24
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•
governance of city systems. This can
Small-scale interventions and locally
change how democracies work, ideally
embedded innovations that bridge the gap
allowing citizens to be more engaged
between soft and hardware opportunities must
and connected with policymakers.
tackle issues “one petri dish at a time”, in the words of GE’s John Rice. He agreed that
Hard infrastructure and the basic needs
fundamental infrastructures around energy, water
of energy, healthcare and clean water
and healthcare must come first, before issues of
continue to be the most necessary types
congestion should be addressed.
of investments in cities in developing countries.
The possible leapfrogging of China over the west in terms of urban technologies and
Panelists also raised the issue of the “info
infrastructure is very real, according to Jonathan
state,” continuing the dialogue started in other
Woetzel. China has been pragmatic in driving
sessions about data access, privacy and
forward urban development, with a focus on
ownership.
engineering solutions that draw on the best available technologies, without being on the
Giving several examples of recent
‘bleeding edge’.
technological innovations supporting efficient use of transportation services in the UK, such as an
In mediating the ensuing discussion, Diane
app showing the availability of Barclay’s Bikes,
Brady, brought up issues around the effective
Greg Clark demonstrated how mobile
governance of public-private partnerships in
applications allow residents to be smarter users of
infrastructure projects, how the citizen and the
city services, while also leading to more
community can be better engaged via new
interaction and connectivity between them. These
technologies and the challenges in bringing the
kinds of technologies quickly become
wider population up-to-date so as to benefit from
indispensable to navigating urban life.
new “soft” infrastructures.
Parag Khanna emphasized the fact that most cities of the world are still facing major hard infrastructure gaps that are greatly hampering development. Pointed interventions that target specific bottle-necks of mobility can have significant impact. In terms of soft infrastructure and connectivity, it must be recognized that cities need to have strong international connections, as opposed to just internal connectivity.
25
Urban Innovation Waze Tuesday 15 May, 10:00 - 10:15
Overview Diann Eisnor demonstrated an innovative mobile phone app that attempts to save urban dwellers time and money by increasing the efficiency of driving using the application, Waze. The interface provides an optimistic view of the city with creatures representing
Speaker Diann Eisnor VP of Partnerships and Platform, Waze
other drivers in the network providing information about traffic conditions on commuting routes across the world. Waze has proven to decrease travel time using crowd-sourced information about alternative routes and driving conditions that saves the individual approximately 61 hours and US $108 per year on gas. Collectively, these benefits for society, the economy, and the environment are extremely powerful.
Click here to watch full session on YouTube: Link to Yo u t u b e Video of the session
26
Urban Innovation Ekobus Tuesday 15 May, 10:15 - 10:30
Speaker
Overview Deputy Mayor Filip Mitrovic introduced the audience to the
Filip Mitrovic
Ekobus project in his city, realized through a partnership with
Deputy Mayor, Pancevo, Serbia
Ericsson and Telecom Srbija serving the 120,000 person population. Air pollution is a serious issue in Pancevo, capable of keeping children home from school and causing chronic diseases. Pancevo’s city reputation in Serbia is one of petrochemical pollution, bad driving and an unreliable public transit system. In this vein, the Ekobus was developed to not only collect real time GPS data about public buses through wireless sensors, but also to gather information about the volume of chemicals in the city’s air. The GPS data is used to inform citizens about the arrival times of the next bus, while the air quality data helps local authorities monitor pollution and address congestion problems accordingly. The Ekobus solution provides an alternative way to approach real time data in an integrated way to serve all citizens with the information that they care about most.
Click here to watch full session on YouTube: Link to Yo u t u b e Video of the session
27
Speakers Victor d’Allant CEO, Dallant Networks
Leila Janah CEO, Samasource
Kasim Reed Mayor of Atlanta
The Just City Tuesday 15 May, 11:15 - 12:30
Overview The Just City is not a luxury or an option, but a prerequisite for cities that want to be prosperous, sustainable and competitive around the world. This session took the form of an interactive debate, letting people from the audience come onstage and be part of the
Moderator George McCarthy Director, Metropolitan Opportunity Program, Ford Foundation
discussion, bringing their own topics to the debate. The moderator George McCarthy challenged the speakers by questioning each of the case studies illustrated, asking for more details related to the potential of the Just City. What are the main challenges cities are facing in order to create more equity in urban life?
Click here to watch full session on YouTube:
Key points •
To connect where people live to economic opportunity areas: the role of transport infrastructures; 28
Link to Yo u t u b e Video of the session
•
To bridge the informal society to the
opportunities, thereby creating positive collective
formal one to change the trajectory of
externalities.
slums and the way people are living for
Victor d’Allant pointed out that
a more inclusive city; •
•
developing dialogue between urban practitioners
To create and develop dialogue between
is one of the main challenges, which is needed for
urban practitioners to increase their
sharing insights on cities, urban public polices,
knowledge about practices, failures and
their ‘epic failures’ and good examples. The
successes of public policies and
Urb.im platform is trying to bring into contact all
development strategies;
practitioners of the urban ecosystem, between cities and within cities. To overcome the lack of
To take urban violence processes into
communication between all the stakeholders, the
account and demystify informal
urban platform has to work on the local ground as
settlements
well as connecting it to the global scale.
Social and spatial disparities are a major
Interactions between the people invited to the
trend in our cities. After presenting a map of
stage and the speakers took many interesting and
Atlanta that shows the distribution of economic
complementary directions. The need of
opportunity and overlaid it on the map of the
collaborative action through the wide variety of
distribution of subsidized housing, George
funders towards specific targets was highlighted.
McCarthy asked Kasim Reed how to fix the
Kasim Reed emphasized the role of the mayor and
mismatch between where people live and where
elected officials in developing a political
economic opportunities are to succeed. The Mayor
leadership for imposing the just city as a
of Atlanta brought attention to the importance of
requirement. It was also argued by all speakers
transport infrastructure investments in giving better
that slums are part of the city, are composed of
access and connectivity for opportunities to
people who live in them, but also work and create
citizens.
solidarities and communities. Before designing any
Then, Leila Janah exposed her
political or social actions, practitioners need to
perspective on bridging informal settlements to
understand first how people live in their homes.
urban and social integration, giving access to slum
Having access to housing and jobs are
dwellers in Kenya through sustainable wage
prerequisites for helping them to socially upgrade.
‘micro-employment’. Access to jobs is crucial and the social enterprise Samasource aims to connect them to computer-based micro-work. Creating a just city necessitates connecting people to job
29
Speakers Jay Carson CEO, C40 Cities
Clara Gaymard President and CEO, GE France
Masato Ito Deputy General Manager, Head of Sustainable Property Promotion Team, The Sumitomo Trust Bank
Hans Tijl
Greener Districts
Director-General, Physical Planning Department, Amsterdam
Tuesday 15 May, 11:15 - 12:30
Overview
Moderator
Key themes •
Joe Peach
Some of the most important steps in addressing emissions
Editor-in-Chief, This Big City
and environmental degradation will be taken at the local level and leadership by local leaders is essential to this process. •
The sharing of best practices and innovations for environmental sustainability, along with healthy competition between leaders, are key to achieving goals of sustainability.
•
Change to policies, laws, regulations, and consumer behaviors will take time. Patience is needed as well as recognition that real reform occurs with a well-informed population. 30
Click here to watch full session on YouTube: Link to Yo u t u b e Video of the session
•
•
Technology has the possibility to meet
Clara Gaymard demonstrated that two
multiple challenges simultaneously, and
main issues exist in addressing urban sustainability.
we should focus on innovations with
On one hand, technologies, such as the electric
simultaneous environmental, social and
car or solar panels, are not yet mature and
economic benefits.
efficient enough. Secondly, business models do not yet exist for how innovative services and
Green Districts are important hotbeds for
products must actually be marketed and
testing and innovating new environmental
distributed. For example, healthcare systems and
policies and technologies, with successful
their funding should be based on keeping people
ones scalable at the city level.
healthy at home (possibly through mobile healthcare technologies) rather than through visits
In discussing the role of mayors to address
to the hospital.
issues of climate change, Jay Carson spoke of efforts to identify the primary levers by which they might have the greatest impact on emissions. Of the emissions output of cities, mayors actually have 75% control of the production of greenhouse gases. Mayors should thus prioritize those projects that are within their scope of power and which have the greatest impact. According to Hans Tijl, we should focus not just on the development of Green Districts but also on decreasing the environmental impact and emissions of the entire city. In order to do this, the key needs are infrastructure and connectivity (both hard and soft) and smart and efficient coordination between all actors. Sustainability within the built environment will be achieved through maintenance and retrofitting of existing buildings. With carbon credit policies and reduced energy costs, Masato Ito argued that businesses will have the long-term incentive to invest in energy efficient and sustainable space. The use of preferential environmental rating loans can also give proper incentives for green building. 31
Speakers Robin Chase CEO Buzzcar, Founder Zipcar
Wolfgang Mueller-Pietralla Head of Future Affairs Volkswagen Group Research, VW
Nimish Radia Director of Research, Ericsson
City Dwellers on the Move: the future or urban transportation and mobility Moderator
Tuesday 15 May, 11:15 - 12:30
Susan Zielinski Managing Director of SMART, University of Michigan
Overview This session sought to explore ways in which transportation can make cities better. Instead of discussing the enormity of the problem, this session focused on brainstorming and discussing the solutions to congestion, traffic, and access to transport. It was concluded that seamless multimodal activity is the future and does not need to be cumbersome. Diversifying our modes of transport and making our modal transitions more fluid is the key aspect of a smart solution enabling urban dwellers to connect. Nimish Radia of Ericsson underlined how the company is already creating seamless mobility solutions while Robin Chase described how Buzzcar integrates service into technology. 32
Click here to watch full session on YouTube: Link to Yo u t u b e Video of the session
Intermodality was attributed to descreasing urban dwellers’ depedence on the car and peer-to-peer car-sharing was to be seen as a useful transition mechanism for the shift from vehicle dependency to other, more sustainable and compact modes. Shifting the conversation from the “what” to the “how,” panelists engaged in a discussion about potentials for partnering across sectors in implementation before delimiting the barriers to innovation and the keys needed to remove those barriers. Electronic access to data and insurance companies’ policies were cited by Chase as a prime candidate for reform while Radia stated that the key was seamlessness and user-centricity. Volkswagen’s Wolfgang Mueller-Pietralla cited symbiosis and making public transport sexier. After some lively inputs from the audience, from a case study of Dhaka to the possibilities of jetpacks, it was determined that a linked system of solutions would be necessary to confront the transport challenges of the future. Mueller-Pietralla also commented on needing not only data for today, but some sort of forecasting system to provide information for tomorrow.
33
Panel Judges
Olivier Cormier, GE
Latif Horst, Cisco
Tim Leberecht, frog
Esther Dyson, EDventure Holdings
Ron Huldai, Mayor of Tel Aviv
Nimish Radia, Ericsson
Charlie Hale, Google
Naureen Kabir, New Cities Foundation
Karsten Selle, Orange
AppMyCity! Prize Presentations
Speakers Philippe Pujau CityGardens
Tuesday 15 May, 13:30 - 14:00
Overview
Andreas Zachariah
Summit participants heard from the finalists in the AppMyCity!
CarbonDiem
competition about three new applications that seek to improve how we experience the city. City Gardens was inspired a Sunday afternoon at Parc Buttes Chaumont in Paris that left the developer and his family looking for the playground, the ice cream stand, and the theater to
Patrick Pung Paris-ci La Sortie du Métro
no avail. The idea is to localize, inform, and transform knowledge for city dwellers to help them discover the green spaces around them. Next CarbonDiem took the stage and asked the judging panel and audience “What if we could tackle the most stubborn emissions?” The CarbonDiem application seeks to increase travel sustainability in our communities by encouraging and rewarding sustainable thinking. The smart phone app features automatic measurement of people’s carbon footprint and stores data about their travel patterns and carbon efficiency for six months. The app equally addresses businesses and communities by leveraging the power of
34
Click here to watch full session on YouTube: Link to Yo u t u b e Video of the session
social networking and aggregating data. CarbonDiem ultimately sees cities as the world’s climate change champions. Lastly, Paris Ci La Sortie introduced a simple, three-step app that could give individuals one week of freedom per year by reducing their commuting time. The developer decided to improve the daily underground user’s experience of the Paris metro by showing app users where the exits are in relation to the metro carriages so that they can avoid lost time by waiting on the wrong end of the platform. There is an additional added value in showing the position of escalators and elevators at each metro stop for people with reduced mobility. The app is compatible with the iPhone, Android, and Windows Phone.
The winner was announced the same night at the Grand Palais and the winner was City Gardens. Congratulations to Eric and Philippe!
35
A Glimpse into Future Cities Tuesday 15 May, 14:00 - 14:15
Overview How can we sense things in a city? Imagine living in a city where you knew everything that was happening around you in real time, such as how much energy is being consumed. We as humans have almost become like walking sensors. From this perspective,
Speaker Carlo Ratti Director, MIT SENSEable City Lab
how can this describe cities? Technology has now allowed us to study the built environment in different ways. Through analyzing and learning from data, we can utilize it to add value to the way we live in cities. SENSEable City aims to research the changes that have enhanced our experience of the city through the use of technology. Carlo Ratti, Director of the MIT SENSEable City Lab, presented projects undertaken by himself and his research team, including the Copenhagen Wheel, which is an example of collecting data and implementing a project based on the data collected. After analyzing traffic data in Copenhagen, the Wheel was invented to sense and capture the energy dissipated while cycling and braking, and store the energy for when you need it the most. The sensing unit on the wheel captures data about road conditions, temperature, and carbon monoxide levels, among other things. Users can share this data through a mobile application, which will allow others in the city to benefit from the crowd-sourced information. Another interesting project was the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) Follow-up, where one of the old electronic equipment, which was used by MIT researchers and had been programmed to report back information about its environment for MoMA, was stolen. The Lab was able to track its location thanks to a GPS built into the 36
Click here to watch full session on YouTube: Link to Yo u t u b e Video of the session
computer, allowing MIT to report the theft and get the computer back, along with pictures of the thief, which were taken by the computer during its time away. For Ratti, this showed that, “when objects talk back to us, they tell us unlikely stories.” The future city may hold the answers to what happens to physical objects when we throw them away. The last project presented was the Digital Water Pavilion at the Zaragoza World Expo in 2008. Ratti and his team wanted to explore how they could use architecture to play with water. What became interesting was not the architecture, but how the space was used by the people, which begs the question, how do we use things we design? Buildings of the future may, then, change their appearance and form based on use and necessity. The future city will, when combined with how we “sense” the city, require rethinking the use of data, architecture, and objects around us.
37
Speakers Yuan Yue: CEO and Chairman of Horizon Research Consultancy Group James Lee Architect, Founder of IContinuum Group Jonathan Woetzel Co-chair, Urban China Initiative; Xiao Jincheng
A Closer Look at Urban China: towards the urban billion
Deputy Director, Land Economy and Regional Regional Research, Bureau, National Development and Reform Commission Xie Chengxiang Deputy Mayor of Huangshi
Plenary Session, Tuesday 15 May, 14:15 – 15:30
Moderator Johan Björkstén
Overview •
Chairman, MSL China
The uniqueness of Chinese urbanization is its shared speed and scale.
•
Government’s strong leadership in urbanization presents unique opportunity.
• •
Local government is spearheading social housing projects. China needs to design more flexible mechanisms to engage external financial resources into Chinese urban infrastructure investment.
Since 2000, Beijing changed its attitude towards urbanization from conservative towards advocating. As a practical policy 38
Click here to watch full session on YouTube: Link to Yo u t u b e Video of the session
responding to hyper-urbanization, China
Xie shared Huangshi’s experience. A
emphasizes the robust development of urban
traditional mining city, Huangshi was confronted
concentrations of all scales: small, middle-sized,
since entering the 21st century with resource
and big cities. In the coming two decades, 40%
depletion and decay of traditional industries. By
of cities globally with over 5 million inhabitants
2000, Huangshi had 164 shantytowns with 2
will be in China and over 200 Chinese cities will
million square meters inhabited by more than
have over 1 million inhabitants.
12,000 inhabitants. In 2010, Huangshi government set up Zhongbang, a company that
All the speakers agreed that the Chinese
functions as a financing vehicle and wholly
government is well in control of Chinese
controlled by Huangshi government. Since then,
urbanization. Woetzel pointed out that China's
Zhongbang has built 45,000 apartments in high
governance model in supporting more sustainable
rising buildings grouped under 45 community
urbanization is “the central government drives
projects with a financial investment of 5.9 billion
urban shapes and standards, and local
RMB. Huangshi also uses ICT solutions to monitor
governments are accountable for initiating and
and publicize the management of low-income
executing implementation plans". Woetzel believes
individuals. In the coming 3 years, Huangshi will
that China's leadership in urbanization presents a
produce 35,000 apartments through this platform.
unique opportunity to develop innovative solutions. Yuan pointed out the constraints of this government
Ongoing Chinese urban infrastructure heat,
dominated model in that the government cannot
as Lee portrayed by several numbers that “11
estimate what is to happen and cannot fully
Chinese cities with subway, 15 cities in
understand what happens on the ground. Yuan
construction, 19 cities are planning to build
and Woetzel pointed out that Chinese
metro”, creating a chance to build a urbanization
urbanization increased inequality and created
model through what Lee called “Transit Synergized
social problems, concentrating on land and
Development (TSD)” that integrates land planning,
environmental issues.
transportation planning, and urbanization planning. Concerning infrastructure, Xiao pointed
Today, how to absorb rural influx and give
out that this heat inevitably slowed down its
equal treatment to rural and urban inhabitants is a
investment towards increasing social welfare, so
top priority of national leaders. Rural-urban
China needs to design more flexible mechanisms
migration happens in mainly two forms: “migrant
to engage external financial resource into Chinese
worker” and “rural-originated graduate.” In the
urban infrastructure investment.
coming 18 years, 300 million inhabitants will be added into the urban population. The core of this question is where Chinese cities can find the money to accommodate them. 39
巴黎新城市峰会热议中
力投资，无形中消
国城市化创举
外资和民资参与投资的渠道。
继本月初李克强副总理在“中欧城镇化
伴”
了可以用于改善民生的政府资源，因
此政府应该进一步改革地方基础设施融资平台，深入
放
系在 城市化新
布鲁塞尔发布后，日前在巴黎拉底方斯举行的首届“新城 市峰会”汇集500余名全球城市化领域的决策者和意见领袖
章：城市运营商时代
在5月14日下午的议程中，国
就世界范围的城市化，三天跨领域的广泛、深入对话，特
的总经理李东明指出正在
注高速发展的中国城市化。这次峰会由新城市基金会
行金融规
起的中国城市运营是解决地方
政府财政困境，真正实现可持续城市发展规
举办，由巴黎市长致欢迎词，发言人包括温哥华市市长、
合作部
的独特平
台。“城市运营商的出现，应视为中国城市化过程的转折
特拉维夫市市长、塞内加尔达卡市长、英国城市部长，以
点”，李东明说。国
及通用、爱立信、思科、苏伊士燃气等公司的执行总裁
金融是国内第一家拥有直投
照的
金融机构，其投资的重点领域是城市基础设施投资，并迅
等。
速成为主要城市运营商之一。城市运营商与地方政府合 作，合资建立的城市运营平台。这个平台一方面做符合当 地自然禀赋条件的整体工业、城市、经济规
前所未有的速度和规模：中国城市化的独一无二的特点和
与国内外知名规
独特机遇
，另一方面
设计机构、金融机构等合作，引入当地
发展必须的金融、智力等资源支持。
在5月15日下午“城市中国”的议席中，“城市中国计 ”共同发起人、麦肯锡公司资深董事华强森先生，国家 发展和改革委员会国土
亚特兰大市长：中国城市发展令我很受启发
发与地区经济研究所副所长肖金
成、中国湖北黄石市副市长谢承祥共同指出，中国城市化
在5月16日上午举行的“新型城市合作
独一无二的趋势特点是其规模和速度前所未有。未来20
伴
系”议
席上，美国亚特兰大市长里德谈到他4月上旬他对深圳、
年，中国将有超过200个百万人口以上的城市，而欧洲百
杭州等五个中国城市的访问印象深刻。他认为中国城市化
万人口以上的城市仅为35个。华强森指出，中国政府在支
的发展揭示了地方政府领导人的愿景和他们执行力的重要
持更加可持续的城市化中发展的管理模式是“中央政府推
性。里德认为市长是目前美国最活跃的政治行动者，而他
动城市建设的形态和标准，地方政府负责启动和实施计
们可以从中国等发展中国国家城市发展的过程受到很多启
”，中国政府在城市化过程中的这 在城市化进程中
主导作用，为中国
发。
发出创新的解决方案提供了独特机遇。
中国城市化的悖论：人和基础设施“争”钱 在同一议席上，香港天能集团有限公司总裁、建筑 师李承民指出，目前中国有30多座城市正在建或拟建地铁 项目。肖金成指出，中国中央和地方政府对基础设施的大
40
41
Speakers Fahd Al Rasheed Managing Director and CEO, King Abdullah Economic City
Jacob Bennett Deputy City Manager, Skolkovo
Chen Xiaohui Deputy Chief Planner, Jiangsu Institute of Urban Planning and Design
Modern Urban Utopias: a conversation with the builders of new cities
Scot Wrighton City Manager, Lavasa
Plenary Session, Tuesday 15 May, 16:00 - 17:00
Moderator Carlo Ratti
Overview This session explored a discussion between the builders of four
Director, MIT SENSEable City Lab
new-city greenfield projects around the world. Carlo Ratti organized the conversation in three main sections: the specificities of each city, the difficult tensions between top-down and bottom-up approaches in designing these cities, and the aspects of the projects that have been implemented that make the cities smart. Jacob Bennett introduced the specificities of Skolkovo, in Russia. This city has been designed to diversify the economy and to allow commercialization of technology. Four hundred companies are already working on the site, hand in hand with universities, research centers, and multinational corporations. Leading master planners and architects have also worked together to develop a mixed-use city, 42
Click here to watch full session on YouTube: Link to Yo u t u b e Video of the session
composed of open green spaces and low-rise
Lavasa City Master Plan in their construction of
residential areas. The two main characteristics that
schools and village rehabilitation in the indigenous
make this city smart and competitive are efficient
villages around the site. The city’s mission is to
social interactions and a strong ICT network.
respond to rural-to-urban migration by diverting migrants through the new city.
Next, Fahd Al Rasheed presented the Again,
These “cities from scratch” face the same
the aim of this new city of two million people is to
questions and challenges about building a city
diversify the sources of economic growth, currently
from the top-down and incorporating the “bottom-
dependent on oil.
The government did not
up.” Due to their diverse experiences and contexts,
financially support the project, but allowed it to be
their responses to these challenges differ. For
developed through an economic zone with
example, while Skolkovo impressed upon the fact
specific regulations. Thirty global companies and
that they try to assemble all stakeholders to mix
10 billion euros have been transferred to King
bottom-up with top-down, Suzhou lamented the
Abdullah during the last six years. The city is now
government limitations in China inhibiting a lot of
entering its operational phase. The private sector is
bottom-up initiatives. Various visions are
able to evaluate this project through consumer
complimentary, however, such as the fact that all
behaviors, so that it can readjust and update
plans include mixed-use planning to increase the
throughout time.
amount of “products,” that is, experiences
King Abdullah Economic City example.
produced in the city.
Chen Xiaohui proceeded to outline the aspects of Suzhou Industry Park, located 20 minutes from Shanghai by train. The park acts as one of the most competitive in China with an annual GDP growth rate of 30%. The park aims to increase China’s international competitiveness by stimulating the economy with a shift from manufacturing to service industry and has already attracted 86 international firms. Lastly, Scot Wrighton presented Lavasa, a 100 square kilometer city located in the PuneMumbai corridor. The city is a completely corporate endeavor in that it receives no financial support from the Indian government. Wrighton highlighted the corporate responsibility of the 43
Capitalising Creativity
Speaker VHILS Artist
Tuesday 15 May, 17:00 - 17:15
Overview
organizing festivals that draw artists and admirers
In a presentation demonstrating the
globally. An event recently organized in Lisbon
transformative power of street art, the widely
not only added color and dynamism to boarded
recognized artist VHILS, demonstrated the
up buildings within the inner city, but also brought
essential role of creative expression in public
renewed political attention to the abandoned
spaces of the city, even when it is expressed
buildings and spaces scattered within the heart of
illegally. Cities have many unused and
the city. A festival organized in a declining
dehumanized spaces, giving the possibility for
southern Italian town drew artists and tourists from
street art and graffiti to transform and enhance the
around Europe, re-energizing the area around
public environment. Graffiti is often seen as a
original displays of creativity. According to VHILS,
problem, especially when it is unorganized.
thinking globally and acting locally can be
However, street art has the potential to enhance
powerful for drawing renewed attention to spaces
urban spaces through color, political commentary
or urban issues. Street art and graffiti are not an
or purely aesthetic work.
urban problem. It is rather the way in which the city handles these expressions of creativity that is
Street art is about the reinterpretation of the
the problem.
city’s space. In describing his own trajectory as a street artist, VHILS drew on the historical roots of his home country, Portugal. Layers of material have progressively been left behind on the walls, including inspiring political murals and ads driving the new consumer cultural. He started to carve large-scale portraits into the peeling layers of paper and paint, leaving behind images
Link to Yo u t u b e Video of the session
representative of the human soul of the city. Having created a name for himself within the street art world, VHILS has now been 44
45
Gala Dinner Keynote Speech
Speaker Bertrand DelanoĂŤ Mayor of Paris
Tuesday 15 May, 2012
Overview
boundaries of what has been done before. Paris
John Rossant opened the evening in
has been able to take risks, such as investment in
thanking the assembled guests of the New Cities
the Velib bike-share project and more recently
Summit Gala Dinner for their presence and
Autolib, the free electric car-sharing service,
participation. He proceeded to introduce Bertrand
allowing for a new way to experience the city.
DelanoĂŤ, Mayor of Paris, for the keynote address.
He expressed pride in the fact that a Parisian startup, City Gardens Paris, had been recognized by
In his speech, Mayor DelanoĂŤ opened in
the Summit for its new and innovative smart-phone
thanking guests, public officials and the event
application.
organizers. He went on to state that there is
In closing, the Mayor spoke of his
nothing more beautiful than being committed to
confidence in the assembled guests and his
serve, to serve life and to serve humanity.
anticipation to see the results of this significant
He spoke of Paris as a world city; that is, a
effort in reflection and exchange. He urged those
city with a million little worlds within it. Being
assembled to stay creative and dynamic, and to
composed of such a diversity of cultures, religions
continue to share always, as do the mayors of the
and people is ultimately its greatest strength. Paris
world. Again, he thanked everyone for their
itself has historically been a center of innovation,
contributions to the event and reasserted the
as exemplified by the space of the Grand Palais,
inherent beauty in being deeply committed to
so it should be seen as no surprise for the event to
serving life, and the vision that we each have of
be held there.
humanity.
In cities we need to work for social cohesion, economic development, and sustainability; in a word, life. The Mayor asserted
Link to Yo u t u b e Video of the session
his belief that we can meet the challenge of sustaining economic development, but only when we are willing to take risks and to push the 46
47
Speakers Vivek Badrinath CEO, Orange Business Services
Pablo Farias Vice President of Economic and Assets Program, Ford Foundation
Ron Huldai Mayor of Tel Aviv
Kasim Reed
Partnering for Better Cities
Mayor of Atlanta
Plenary Session, Wednesday 16 May, 09:00 - 10:00
Overview The sharing across borders of knowledge, experience, and
Introduced and Moderated by
lessons learned is key to the cooperation of cities. Whether your city
Saskia Sassen
is Tel Aviv or Atlanta, each city can learn from one another, making
Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology; Co-Chair, The Committee on Global Thought, Columbia University
the concept of “building together” important in addressing today’s and tomorrow’s urban challenges. Saskia Sassen introduces two main challenges that global cities are presently facing. First, in a global economy, the idea that all economies seem to become similar is not completely true. This is because cities, in order to compete with one another, need to be specialized. If the global standards of building a city homogenize the built environment, the way it has been used and is still used by its communities, is making the difference. The second challenge for Sassen is the need to take inequalities, unemployment and poverty into account. 48
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When turning to the panel, Sassen asked
and newcomers through democracy and public
each of the two mayors to present the strengths
participation. Cities must also make prosperity a
and difficulties of the cities they are representing.
shared goal by every citizen living there.
Mayor Huldai sees his city’s advantage as
Vivek Badrinath seeks to provide a
lying in its openness, young age, dynamism,
technological means through which leaders can
tolerance and creativity. However, without any
make change in their cities. Through applications
natural resources to take advantage of,
on mobile phones providing water meters or
entrepreneurship and connectivity are the two
informing one of electric recharging stations for
solutions for developing economically and making
their cars, technology is helping to connect city-
it competitive around the world. Mayor Kasim
dwellers faster. It will also be important that
Reed of Atlanta, which is the center of commerce
companies who own data make partnerships with
in the U.S. south and the site of such global
consumers in order to add more value to what
brands as Coke and CNN, recognizes that 80%
companies produce and sell.
of GDP in the U.S. occurs in cities, which shows the urgency of collaborative action. Collaboration
Overall, cities and their leaders are now
is already occurring inside his city, where
given new means through which they can partner
Republican and Democrat officials cast their
together to make their cities better. By sharing
partisanship aside and voted to invest billions of
knowledge and lessons learned, local leaders can
dollars into improving Atlanta’s infrastructure and
carry out initiatives to alleviate poverty and to
transportation system. Reed strongly believes that
create more equitable cities. Technology and
transportation is a key to bridging inequalities in
innovation, as well as creating added value, also
the city and creating accessibility, whether it be to
opens up opportunity for citizen inclusion in the
jobs, education, or other opportunities. It is in the
city space. Especially during a time where
public interest, economically and socially, to solve
national governments are de-investing in cities, it
problems of poverty and accessibility.
will be important to think of cities as a strategic space, and for power to be brought back to local
Pablo Farias oversees grants that focus on
governments and for local leaders to act to
expanding opportunities, overcoming inequities,
address the pressing issues facing today’s global
and building economic resources. For him, it is
cities.
important to innovate through collaboration, and through this process, inclusion can be created. Collaboration itself must also bring together all stakeholders to learn and build knowledge in order to transfer it to an extended network. Cities have to open opportunity to diverse communities 49
Urban Innovation Ciudad Saludable Wednesday 16 May, 10:00 - 10:15
Overview The presentation started with a film showing waste pickers living off of heaps of garbage in Peru and the many challenges posed by large amounts of contaminated urban waste that are not adequately collected and processed. The film then highlighted the
Speaker Luciana Lima Director of Strategic Partnerships, Ciudad Saludable
importance of innovative waste management tools that have been developed by Ciudad Saludable, including waste pickers. Luciana Lima described the passion of Albina Ruiz, the Founder of the organization. She has spearheaded the project thanks to her passion for finding a solution to waste management issues plaguing most urban centers of the country. Using simple and small-scale models, and demonstrating by example, waste pickers become employed in collecting and processing a town’s waste, composting and recycling where possible. Having met with success, these smallscale, self-supporting social enterprises have now been replicated in a number of Latin American cities. Over 9 million poor people have been impacted by the work of Ciudad Saludable, and they have now gained recognition from the Clinton Global Initiative, Ashoka and the Schwabb Foundation, among others.
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Urban Innovation Isla Urbana Wednesday 16 May, 10:15 - 10:30
Speaker
Overview Isla Urbana aims to provide a viable and scalable solution for
Enrique Lomnitz
the water crisis in Mexico City. Enrique Lomnitz presented the origin
Co-founder, Isla Urbana
of his interest, explaining his first surprising discoveries. If housing is crucial for developing an inclusive city, water is the most vital resource. However, while low-income communities from informal settlements are able, year after year, to build their own home, to pave their streets and to provide electricity to the all neighborhood, they face an unprecedented water crisis. The ironic fact is that slums in Mexico City are exposed to massive flooding issues, while the inhabitants expressed the increasing water scarcity. Enrique Lomnitz developed the adoption of rainwater harvesting, by catalyzing communities through training and collaborative action to develop effective and accessible systems. The benefits are threefold. First, it vitalizes local economies, by training and employing local plumbers. Second, one component of the project is to connect these new innovative systems to existing ones in order to create a self-sustainable system. Finally, it directly involves community leaders and the community itself through the designing of the process and its implementation. One thousand systems have
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been built in the slum within the past two years. This innovative system couldn’t have emerged without the partnership of governments, businesses, universities and NGOs, throughout the entire process.
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Speakers Alan Hinchman Global Market Director, GE Intelligent Platforms
Nathalie Leboucher Director of Smart City, Orange Business Services
Henri Saint-Bris Senior Vice President Strategy, Suez Environnement
HydroCity: urban water Wednesday 16 May, 11:00 - 12:00
Overview
Xiao Jincheng Deputy Director, Land Economy and Regional Research Bureau, National Development and Reform Commission
Moderator
Key issues
Hugh Aldridge
•
The social costs of water distribution must be addressed.
•
Water scarcity will continue to be a challenge for both
Director of Development, University of California, CITRIS
developed and developing cities. •
Cities must think about new ways to deal with water scarcity, e.g. re-use solutions and correct tariffs.
•
Water pricing must be fair.
•
Water losses, which incur heavy economic costs as well, must be mitigated.
•
A distributed model is where innovation must take place in order for consumers to understand water usage, whether through education or investing in simple technology. 52
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Population growth and urbanization, climate
for agriculture. However, the urban water supply
change, and the change of consumption patterns
continues to be the biggest issue, and local
through history have greatly impacted water
governments are now adopting better policies to
demand today. Cities will need new solutions in
save water and clean up pollution, though some
dealing with the almost 40% of urban water that is
projects that have been undertaken to transfer
lost and water infrastructures that are out of date.
water from water-rich to water-scarce areas are not
Issues of equity also arise, as most of the people
yet sustainable.
who are paying the most for water in the world
Alan Hinchman described “Innovative
are the poorest, and increasingly only 1% of water
Industry,” a new GE initiative which aggregates
is reserved for drinking. This is a problem faced by
and adds value to data through the development
not only developing countries, but also developed
of efficient water management tools. For example,
ones.
water costs more to pump out than oil, yet they are Henry Saint-Bris suggested ways water
not even close to being the same price because
management may be improved, especially through
water is pumped so inefficiently and cost recovery
greater recycling. Nathalie Leboucher
measures are difficult to implement. However, this
proposed that the main solutions will be found in
knowledge is not always known. Through the
rethinking “re-use” solutions, such as desalination
leverage of data, conflicting usages in water may
and correct tariffs. A tool such as smart metering
be revealed, such as the imbalance of water
networks will help the consumer by showing them
usage between agricultural and consumer usage in
how much water they are consuming. With the
China, and decisions may then be made on how
advancement of technology, multiple applications
to optimize the water quantity and its uses.
exist on mobile devices to help measure our
Because of the nature of water as a necessity
consumption. Such services may even be put into
for human life, challenges concerning the scarcity
cities like Mexico City that may not be
of the resource, improving water quality, and
infrastructurally ready for wireless water metering;
maintaining the networks and treatment facilities in
however, the main impediment is money, so the
the world’s big cities today will be of utmost
right partnership of stakeholders must be put into
importance.
place for this to work in cities everywhere. Xiao Jincheng revealed that water scarcity is severe in Chinese cities, especially in the north and west of the country. The fact that China now has three cities with populations over 10 million people, making water very unevenly distributed in the country. Most of the water is used 53
Speakers Youenn Dupuis Responsable de la Mission Grand Paris, RATP
Jean-Yves Durance Vice-President, Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Pierre Mansat Deputy Mayor of Paris for Paris Metropole
Greater Paris: reinventing the City of Light
Robert Vassoyan Director General, Cisco France
Wednesday 16 May, 11:00 - 12:00
Moderator
Overview
Stephen Barrett
Stephen Barrett began the breakout session and introduced Pierre Mansat to talk about the origins of the Greater
Architect, Partner, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners
Paris project. He emphasized the fact that if the last French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, gave political visibility to greater Paris, it was the elected officials of the Ile-de-France region that got the project off the ground in 2001, with the Mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë. Many urban stakeholders reached a consensus around the need to change the relationship between Paris intra-muros and its banlieues. Within the last ten years, the challenge for Paris and its region has been to reassert itself in the global economy, as well as the political will to reduce socio-spatial inequalities and political fragmentation. The emergence of the Greater Paris has been crystallized in the massive consultation in which central government, local authorities, 54
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architects, civil society and private sector have
precondition for success is that it needs to be
been working together to define challenges and
planned out ahead of time.
potential solutions for the Greater Paris. However,
However, if transport regulations are part of
Pierre Mansat insisted on the fact that no
the Greater Paris, both Jean-Yves Durance
consensus has been reached, but the most
and Pierre Mansat wanted to remind us that
important thing was to match the strategic plan
housing is as important as transportation. Another
with the local territories’ needs. Nevertheless, the
important goal for a prosperous Paris is to develop
governance challenge is at the heart of the success
solidarity. Pierre Mansat concludes the session
of the Greater Paris, as all the speakers agreed.
with an optimistic message related to the discourse
The project needs to overcome the administrative
of François Hollande, saying that the central
boundaries because Paris has a radiating effect in
government wants to partner with local authorities
all the region. So the aim is to create a dynamic
rather than be a barrier to progress.
where all the stakeholders are part of the project, where the institutions evolve regarding the need to find the right scale at which to treat housing and transport issues. Perhaps the public transport system change has been the only point where all the actors found consensus so far. Youenn Dupuis presented the current project on public transportation, developed by the RATP collaboratively with all the stakeholders. 175km of ring-road automatic underground will be connected to the existing system for a cost of 20 billion Euros. The challenges faced are more about getting consensus and being attentive to the territories, actors and private sector than technical ones, in order to develop a sustainable and viable network. Robert Vassoyan presented the Smart Work Centers, initiated from Cisco in Amsterdam, stating that digital technology is an asset, giving flexibility to cities to adapt themselves to the current challenges they are facing. The
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Speakers Paul Delaoutre Chairman and CEO, BHV and Galeries Lafayette Department Stores
Jean-Charles Decaux Co-CEO, JCDecaux SA
A City Shops: the future of urban retail in the digital age Wednesday 16 May, 11:00 - 12:00
Moderator Mark Dytham
Overview
Director, Klein Dytham architecture (KDa); Founder, PechaKucha
Key points •
Retail continues to be about knowing your customers and providing key services.
•
Technology is changing the way that people shop, but the in-store experience is still centrally important.
•
Drawing on evolving technologies and trends, retail and advertising can and should adapt, while staying faithful to values of their key customers.
In moderating the discussion, Mark Dytham focused on the changing environment for retail operators and advertising with the 56
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advent of new technologies. The most significant
who cited the fact that 7.4 million people pass
of these is actually the increasing use of the
though the Shanghai subway every day.
internet for making purchases, which will continue
The session concluded with the recognition
to change the face of retail.
that retail offerings must continue to be customer
Paul Delaoutre responded to this
focused, taking into account changing habits
assertion by agreeing that the topic of matching
within new urban environments and thanks to ever
internet retail to in-store strategies is a hot one.
evolving technologies.
However, it is important to not fall into the trap of thinking of retail in terms of stores selling products, but rather of brands serving customers. The best use of technology is in learning to better understand what customers want and responding to their needs. However, the competition coming from online retailing will make it increasingly difficult for small retailers in disadvantaged areas to compete. From the perspective of Jean-Charles Decaux, the firm is the bridge between products and services and the municipalities that must find innovative ways to fund infrastructure projects. The challenge is to perceive the major trends that will impact mobility and navigation of the city. For example, many were unsure about whether the Velib bike-share system would work given such cheap user pricing. However, this is what ultimately contributed to its success. Despite claims otherwise, Paul Deloutre argued that mobility is not decreasing but increasing, offering new opportunities and markets for retailers. Additionally, the scale of emerging cities holds massive potential for revenue generation according to Jean-Charles Decaux,
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Speakers Jay Carson CEO, C40 Cities
Gérard Mestrallet CEO, GDF Suez
Jean Pistre Architect, Valode & Pistre
Khalifa Sall Mayor of Dakar
Call to Action Thinking Ahead, Building Together Plenary Session, Wednesday 16 May, 12:00 - 13:00
Moderator John Rossant
Overview
Chairman, New Cities Foundation
The closing session refocused the conversation around the need for effective coordination and partnership between the public and private spheres, and continued sharing of information and best practices between municipal leaders around the world. John Rossant opened by inviting Gerard Mestrallet to discuss the role of GDF Suez in working with municipalities to manage city services. With over 150 years of experience in partnering with urban centers, the CEO described how services, such as increasingly efficient waste water collection/treatment or the smart city dashboard, are creating a more liveable and efficient urban environment with better responsiveness to the needs of people.
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The Mayor of Dakar, Khalifa Sall,
solved, and where we must partner and
described the central challenges faced by cities in
collaborate for change. Finally, he expressed his
Africa citing, among others, the need for access to
wishes that the first New Cities Summit had
affordable sources of credit for addressing urgent
created a community of practitioners that would
needs for basic services within the city. However,
thrive and expand in the future, enacting positive
he remained largely optimistic about the
change in participants’ home cities. He closed in
development potential of African cities, bringing
thanking the attendees for their participation, as
attention to the young, educated and dynamic
well as contributors and organizers.
population, access to new markets, and the high returns on investment. Coming from the perspective of emissions reduction, Jay Carson highlighted the fact that these issues can and will only be addressed at the city level, where municipal governments have significant power to impact CO2 output. The sharing of best practices is a powerful tool for leveraging innovative solutions globally. Additionally, it should be recognized that some of the most pragmatic steps towards more effective and efficient systems have been taken by cities in developing countries, with many lessons to be learned. The architect, Jean Pistre, argued for design that focuses once more on the human experience and the creation of spaces which facilitate interaction, engagement and sustainable means of access to the experiences, services, and goods that are important to us. In closing the discussion, John Rossant emphasized the important role of cities in meeting the massive challenges that we are faced with globally today. Cities are where innovation takes place, where social problems arise and are 59
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