UN Habitat in London: Urban Planning for City Leaders
UN-Habitat held its inaugural Urban Planning conference on September 20 at a new £30m exhibition and conference center called The Crystal, located at the Royal Victoria Docks in east London. Over 200 stakeholders from cities around the world, including mayors, city planners, business representatives, and academics, participated in the launching of UN Habitat’s new guide, “Urban Planning for City Leaders.” It lays out tools to support sustainable urban planning good practices. “All too often planning has been disconnected from the day to day realities and needs of citizens,” said UN-HabitatExecutive Director Dr. Joan Clos.
With the help of London Mayor Boris Johnson, Siemens officially opened The Crystal the evening prior to the UN Habitat conference. “The futuristic Crystal is a fantastic new landmark for London which has breathed new life into the historic Royal Docks. … It continues the rebirth of east London witnessed by the world this summer and I am determined to ensure this regeneration continues apace,” said the Mayor. Siemens Lead for Infrastructure and Cities Sector Roland Busch explained, “Siemens is establishing the Crystal in order to help find solutions for making the world’s cities more sustainable. It will serve as a centre for dialogue, learning and discovery.”
Participants discussed the obstacles to urban planning, e.g. existing legal frameworks, and drew on global success stories, e.g. Barcelona, to highlight innovative and sustainable approaches. Through its newMetrocable mass transit system, politicians, civic leaders, and city planners in Medellin, Colombia reduced the time some residents take to get to the city center from two hours to seven minutes. It increased commercial activity by 400 percent, with small and family-run businesses that are thriving around new Metrocable stations. Environmentally, it has helped reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, saving 20,000 tons of CO2 per year.
Speakers also touted New York City’s new Highline attraction, a public park built on an historic freight rail line elevated above the streets on Manhattan’s West Side. The High Line welcomed 3.7 million visitors in 2011 and reportedly stimulated hundreds of millions of dollars of urban regeneration. High Line architects will be in London on October 5 to share their story of how they transformed an inner city New York City industrial ruin into the most popular new parks in the world. You can purchase tickets from the Garden Museum.
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