LOC20:57
17:57 GMT
(With photos)
JEDDAH, March 17 (KUNA) -- Participants in the Jeddah Economic Forum 2013
called Sunday for establishing smart cities that could fulfill the basic needs
of a changeable society.
At a session held on the sidelines of the event, they stressed the
significance of changing some cultures that have blocked population growth in
some Middle East cities.
Dr. Liu Thai-Ker of Singapore, Director of RSP Architects Planners and
Engineers, reviewed his role in his country's experiment in the housing field.
He argued that cities, just like cars, need engines and tools in order to
maintain their sustainability.
He regarded sound environment, good education and strong economy as
requirements for achieving modern cities.
Joseph P. Danko, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Urban
Programs in the US, said the competitive edge of cities should be boosted by
means of reinforcing strong points that enable them to draw investments and
provide thousands of jobs and create partnership between both public and
private sectors.
He said new cities should be flexible and able to adapt to new technologies
with a view to keeping abreast of the current developments and answering
future needs.
Jaime Lerner, Former Governor of the state of Parana, Brazil and a housing
expert, said the only thing that can make the city attractive is the high
quality of living there.
He underscored the importance of means of transport in highly densely
populated cities, saying public transport companies are a must for full
smoothness in cities.
For his part, Ad Buisman, Partner at Ernst Young, and Head of Real Estate
for Europe, Middle East, India and Africa, raised a question about the future
ability of huge cities to deal with stupendous challenges, primarily
dilapidated infrastructure.
He listed criteria for successful cities as sustainability, management
development, good contiguity, infrastructure and sound environment.
The Jeddah Economic Forum 2013 focuses on "housing the growing population"
as the housing becomes a challenging issue locally, regionally and
internationally.
The forum hopes to provide solutions and suggestions for the housing issue
and also will provide recommendations for government bodies to be able to
solve this issue. (end)
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