With the global population increasingly moving to urban areas, construction and investment in cities that are both resilient and adaptable are necessary in order to ensure their long-term success. Inspired by recent events threatening the well-being of Europe’s cities—a summer of floods and heat waves, an ongoing global financial crisis, and the cancellation of significant urban development projects, to name a few—more than 60 leaders from the public and private sectors gathered in Istanbul in September to discuss issues surrounding city resilience during a one-day forum titled “Resilient Cities: Surviving in a Brave New World.”
Hosted by ULI’s Urban Investment Network, the event featured city case study presentations, interviews with investors, and interactive roundtable discussions to explore topics related to urban sustainability, flexibility, and long-term city planning.
Discussion at the forum focused on the key themes affecting the resilience of cities, such as how cities have overcome the constraints of the current funding environment through partnerships, how cities like Istanbul have prepared themselves for natural disasters, and the importance of overcoming the threat posed by the infrastructure investment deficit.
The forum elicited several bold observations from key Urban Investment Network partners. “With the markets in their current depressed state, now is an excellent time to invest in building environmentally resilient cities,” said Dion Panambalana, partner in the real estate practice at the Hogan Lovells law firm in London. Jerome Pourbaix, senior manager at the International Association of Public Transport (UITP) in Brussels, asserted that economic development and the resilience of cities is dependent on good public transportation.
During the forum’s final session, participants debated the “Ten Principles of Resilient Cities,” a draft set of guidelines for city resilience that has been refined since the event. The principles emphasize the need for cities to have a clear identity; economic, social, and physical diversity; and a clear set of long-term goals. Other priorities include the need for risk assessment and crisis planning, capable leadership and governance in both the public and private sectors, investment in innovation and technology, and integrated and appropriate urban infrastructure. Forum participants also reinforced the need for increased climate change awareness and education, an issue that is currently being addressed, for example, through ULI’s LessEN initiative, an effort to create the world’s largest free resource of information, products, and services for energy efficiency.
The forum was presented as part of ULI’s Urban Investment Network initiative—an independent European network designed to promote and facilitate investment in urban development. True to the network’s mission, discussion at the forum was governed by unanimous agreement that collaboration between the public and private sectors is an essential component of building resilient and adaptable cities.
“It is vital that public and private institutions collaborate effectively to cope with urban challenges such as earthquakes, heat waves, and crumbling infrastructure,” says Alexander Otto, chief executive of Hamburg-based shopping center developer ECE Projektmanagement GmbH & Co. and chairman of ULI Europe. “The ULI Urban Investment Network brings the decision makers of both sides together and makes a continuous exchange possible in the first place.”
A summary of the forum discussion can be found in the report Resilient Cities: Surviving in a New World, which is available for download at the Urban Investment Network website.
