Saturday, September 15, 2012

Tomorrow's Cities Today: Conference Ends

Today afternoon, the Bellagio Conference ended. The formal recommendations were made after day-long deliberations. Yesterday, the MD of Rockfeller Foundation Bellagio invited us to a formal dinner at the hilltop villa where we were not allowed to take photos.
Today's recommendation articulated, inter-alia, that independent certification of cities for Urban Sustainability   (with its all three components viz. economical, social and environmental), should be done by research/ academic institutions or otherwise.
* * *
Key takeaways for me:
* Indicators are necessary to monitor progress
* Political, Community and Business entities must be involved to ensure eco cities
* Recognition of Consumption of Urban space for development
* Germany's indicators by a self-imposed group of developers were a model to observe
* China's progress in creating eco-cities and indicators is astonishing
* Ho Chi Minh City is also creating a New Town with Holland association
I developed the following additional gains:
* Detailed interaction with World Bank's Lead Urban Specialist Mr Suzuki about LRT in New Town
* Interactions with China's consultant for leading me to international consultant on intelligent city
* * *
Here is a photo taken today afternoon after lunch within Bellagio campus:
14th Sep, Bellagio Rockefeller Foundation Campus

3 comments:

  1. Congrats Sir, hope we would be able to learn from you what you have experienced in this meet, when we meet to discuss the future of our city.
    Meanwhile please find time to review DSDA's New digha gate's recent update, (unless you already had a look.) at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRzXx95TQKY

    Had called your office for an appointment, shall do it again early next week.
    Looking forward to the meeting

    Regds,
    Abhishek
    ArcOn Design

    ReplyDelete
  2. On behalf of the state of Bengal and for Benglis across the world, my sincere hopes rest upon you to make a tangential shift in approach to make and manage cities ....eco-friendliness. ....Now, with the arrival of the festive season, I wud luv to draw your attention to the threat our water bodies suffer from the immersion of Idols made of PoP(Plaster of Paris).In Gujarat, for instance the govt has issued prohibitory order for dropping these idols. Instead, it has been advised that the organisers to place the idols at a selected place on the bank of the Sabarmati river from where Govt would make arrangement to move them and immerse them as per Hindu rites. Another interesting development worth of note in prevention of river pollution, the daily worshippers who pray and throw puja samagri including flower into the river and to minimise that garbage, large pots have been placed on river bridges and the worshipper are asked to drop the offerings in those pots...This is just a test drive and would take many months even years to change public practice. Wish u all the best.

    ReplyDelete
  3. @Gautam Maitra: Great thoughts. West Bengal Pollution Control Board & KMC are also doing great work. For example, it does campaign to use lead-free paints, to encourage a token immersion only and retrieve the idol structure, prevent flowers etc to be dumped on river etc.
    I'll also pass it on to my Clean Ganga Team

    ReplyDelete