Green Plus Issu 14

ARCHITECTURE
Urban regeneration
A vital approach towards competitiveness, vitality and sustainability
OVER 500 participants
gathered for the 7th
International Conference
on World Class
Sustainable Cities 2015
(WCSC 2015) in Kuala
Lumpur on Sept 29 to listen to, learn from, and
engage with one another on issues of better city
planning.
World class speakers Stephen Luoni (Director
of the University of Arkansas Community
Design Center, Arkansas), Dyan Currie
(Director of Planning & Environment, Gold
Coast, Australia), Sascha Haselmayer (CEO
of CityMart, Barcelona Spain) and Catarina
Rolfsdotter-Jansson (Journalist, Moderator
and Innovator from Malmo, Sweden), globally
renowned for their innovative ideas and excellent
achievements in urban regeneration, shared
with an audience consisting of professionals
(architects & planners), developers, city managers
and members of the public that included
representatives of Residents Associations from
Kuala Lumpur.
This annual conference is co-organised by the
Real Estate & Housing Developers Association
Malaysia Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur
(REHDA KL), the Malaysian Institute of
Planners (MIP), and the Malaysian Institute
of Architects (PAM), and is supported and
endorsed by City Hall Kuala Lumpur (DBKL).
now in its seventh year. It is organised to bring
together ideas and best practices on what makes
cities sustainable places to live and work in, as
well as to increases the awareness of our city
dwellers and other stakeholders on what makes
a city great.
“We are also happy to note that WCSC’s
impact has gone beyond the boundaries of
Kuala Lumpur. Each year, more and more local
councils from across Malaysia have sent representatives
to this conference. This year, we had
over 20 federal ministries and local councils
from across Malaysia,” said Datuk N.K. Tong,
Organising Chairman of WCSC 2015 from
REHDA KL.
Previous WCSCs have focused on various
topics, including the transformation of
Cheongyecheon River in Seoul, Korea, the city
Exhibit photos
and master plan
VVIPs walking
through the entrance
transportation solutions for Curitiba, Brazil, the
metamorphosis of Kaohsiung, Taiwan from an
industrial polluter to an ecological tourist hub
and demonstrating that liveable cities are creative
and competitive.
This year, WCSC 2015 focused on the
theme of “Urban Regeneration Through Smart
Partnerships”.
“We have searched across the globe for world
class ideas and speakers to share an impactful
day with us. There are also Master Classes that
will be conducted in smaller groups on a separate
day, led by our esteemed speakers, to delve
into greater details on the opportunities for the
future urban regeneration of Kuala Lumpur,”
added Khairiah Talha from MIP.
In previous years, WCSC conference speakers
perceptions to the Kuala Lumpur project that
followed. The Cheongyecheon River restoration
was a great prelude to the Kuala Lumpur River
of Life project, the Curitiba experience in transforming
the city’s buses and MRT, and pedestrianisation
projects that include covered walkway
systems to make cities for the people.
“We are especially excited this year, as WCSC
Mayors/Governor’s Meeting (MGM). It is a
great opportunity for Kuala Lumpur to showcase
and lead the way in urban regeneration within
from PAM.
In conjuction with WCSC 2015, the winners of
the “Photography Competition” themed “Urban
Regeneration Through Smart Partnership” were
also announced and prizes were given out by
Datuk Loga Bala Mohan Jaganathan, Deputy
Minister in Ministry of Federal Territories, who
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Greenplus TM MARCH 2016