Building Partnerships
As we design for the future of our cities,
we have the opportunity to rejuvenate,
reinvent and reimagine our well-worn urban
planning paradigms.
For one, the growth of cities must be in
harmony with nature, if we are to tackle climate
change and for our cities to remain liveable..
Climate change will impact vulnerable groups
disproportionately, thus exacerbating economic
inequalities, to the detriment of social cohesion.
In an interview for this edition of Urban Solutions,
Claudio Orrego, Governor of Santiago, draws
attention to how the poorest communities
are most at risk of extreme heat stress, and
emphasises that the benefits of smart city
projects must be equitably shared.
Bambang Susantono details the approaches
adopted by the Nusantara Capital Authority,
in planning for Indonesia’s new capital. By
embracing nature-based solutions, his team
hopes that Nusantara will coexist with Mother
Nature, while offering residents a pleasant
living environment.
Secondly, the future of our cities lies in
collaborative partnerships and data-driven
transformations.
In the downtowns of Chicago and Los Angeles,
Kenya Merritt and Richard Green sketch a future
of urban planning that is consultative and
achieves a high degree of citizen engagement.
Across the Atlantic, the Helsinki Energy Challenge
brought together the brightest minds from
around the globe, to design future-ready heating
solutions. Carlo Ratti shares his experience
designing Helsinki’s Hot Heart—a floating thermal
basin that generates enough renewable energy
to keep visitors warm and provide surplus energy
to the City of Helsinki’s electricity grid.
Underpinning these extensive public
consultations and crowdsourcing of ideas is
technology. Yang Jung-Won shares how the
data collected from pilot tests at the Busan
Eco Delta Smart Village helped assess the
viability of scaling up new technologies to
other parts of the country.
Finally, cities can temper the potential
disruptions of rapid technological advancement
by being people-centred and retaining a sense
of heritage.
Marcos Neto reminds us that technology is
merely a means to improve human lives. Neto
shares how the UNDP developed the Con Vos
initiative in Argentina and helped to foster
digital inclusion.
As Barcelona rapidly modernises its BlueTech
Port, Javier Salsas recounts how it helps
residents maintain an intimate sense of place
and connection, by reaffirming the area’s rich
maritime heritage.
The future can at times seem unpredictable
and even intimidating, but it is my hope that
this edition of Urban Solutions will stir your
imagination and offer ideas as to how we can
best harness the potential of technology, while
mitigating against unintended consequences.
Reimagining a better future is both an act of
faith and a commitment to seeing that the best
days of our cities still lie ahead.
Hugh Lim
Executive Director
Centre for Liveable Cities