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WORLD CLASS SUSTAINABLE
CITIES CONFERENCE 2012 :
‘CITIES FOR PEOPLE’
Re-edited By :Syafiee Shuid
Photo by: MIP Seceteriat
The fourth World Class Sustainable Cities (WCSC 2012) was held
on 25th September 2012 at JW Marriot Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.
Attended by almost 400 participants, WCSC 2012 themed
‘Cities for People’ and focused on the transformation of cities
in relation to the impact and benefits to their inhabitants.
They keynote papers was presented by Dr Jen Gehl
of Gehl Architects, Denmark and Mr Alfonso Vegara of
FundacionMetropoli Spain. In conjunction with WCSC 2012
there were also a Photography Competition and an Essay
Competition which hopes to inspire city dwellers and see their
vision of this city through their eyes.
Dr Jen Gehl of Gehl Architects, Denmark delivering his
Keynote Speaker during the conference
The participants at the conference
POST WCSC TECHNICAL
TOUR TO SPAIN
The technical tour was successfully organized from 10th –
18th November 2012 and participated by 28 representatives
from local authorities, developers, state agencies, private
practitioners and a journalist. The tour also included a one
day participation to the World Congress & Exhibition Of
smart Cities in Barcelona.
The tour took delegates to the cities of Barcelona, Bilbao
and also Granada. The visit to Granada which holds the
Alhambra was an added bonus for the Malaysian to see for
themselves the great Islamic architecture within a World
Heritage Site.
3 technical programmes were conducted. These were the
briefing by Barcelona Activa on 22@; the briefing by the
Deputy Mayor of Bilbao on the city transformation and the
Smart Cities Conference & Exhibition. A brief summary
of the lessons learnt as well as the key takeaways are
described below :
22@ project by Barcelona Activa – Barcelona Activa was a
setup by the City Authority as a research and development
corporation private entity, to develop an old part of the
city. The 22@ area once hosted industrial and manufacturing
plants close to the centre of Barcelona. The 200 acre site is
now being developed into a high income generating, value
added services industry such as media and communications,
the Art and theatres, educational institutions,commerce
and retails. It has attracted investment from all over is now
an example of a successful redevelopment program of the
city.
The Bilbao Effect – Bilboa was a steel based industrial
city since the 1800’s. In mid 1970’s the steel industry fell
drastically and the city had 25% unemployment, a bad
urban environment and a population that was politically
and socially against the government. In early 1980, the
city government formulated a plan to revive the city. This
master plan was generally sustainability, which they believe
will lead to economic and social recovery. Four main
elements of the plan were Urban physical development,
socio- economic components, mobility and accessibility&
Infrastructure service (clean water & sewerage). The
delegates were amazed at the transformation. A river boat
cruise gave the opportunity for the delegates to personally
observe beautiful environment that Bilboa now has. A visit
redeveloped central brewery into a cultural, sports, leisure
and knowledge center further convinced that with political
will, city development and project can be very successfully
towards achieving city with a good quality of life.
The Smart City Congress & Exhibition – Barcelona holds
many world events and congresses, held at plaza Europa.
The area is a redevelopment of a once industrial warehouse
and a factory site. The Smart City Congress & Exhibition
is held annually with many companies showcase new
initiatives towards Green Cities. There were also companies
that offered consultancy services for cities to go green
The Minister giving prizes to the winner
NEWSLETTER OF THE MALAYSIAN INSTITUTE OF PLANNERS 15