The third session of the World Urban Forum (WUF), held in Vancouver from June 19 23, was attended by some 10,000 participants from over 100 countries; more than double than that of the second session held two years ago in Barcelona. The forum was attended by a huge number of dignitaries from all over the world, as well as by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan. The theme of the forum was "Our Future: Sustainable Cities Turning Ideas into Action".
The WUF is an initiative of the United Nations' Human Settlements Program (UN-HABITAT) and is held every two years as a means to allow people from all walks of life to discuss the challenges of urbanization.
The percentage of the world's population living in urban areas has increased from 30 percent in 1950 to 50 percent today and is expected to reach 60 percent by 2030. One major cause of this increase is an exodus of people moving from rural to urban areas in many developing nations in hopes of finding a better life. The resulting problems brought on by this increased urban population density are what the WUF hopes to help solve.
"We are talking about survival" declared Pierre San้, the assistant director general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) during the closing ceremonies. "We are talking about the dignity of more than three billion people who live in poverty. We are talking about their right to safe water, housing, food, and education."
The WUF is addressing these issues by bringing together delegates from all over the world to collectively brainstorm solutions, and by stressing that the ideas generated at the forum must be put into action.
Three Canadian cities were rated in the top ten most liveable cities in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) in 2005. Calgary and Toronto tied in 5th place along with Zurich, Perth, Sydney and Adelaide, while Vancouver grabbed the title of the world's most liveable city for the fourth year in a row. The EIU ranks world cities annually through surveys which assess stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.
"Today we are the only major city in North America without a freeway running through it." Commented Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan. "We have an active and vibrant downtown where people not only work, but live. Every year, the number of car trips in our city is decreasing, and of all the trips in our downtown core almost 70 per cent are made on foot."
Sullivan has introduced what he is calling a new approach to housing development in Vancouver: "The EcoDensity Initiative." The concept is designed to reduce the city's ecological footprint while making home ownership more economical.
"If everyone on Earth lived the way we do in Vancouver, it would take four planets to sustain us. We have to do better," said Sullivan, who also encouraged WUF delegates to think about how they can apply the EcoDensity concept in their own cities.
UN-HABITAT Civil Society Representative Mariama Sow stressed to all WUF 3 attendees that "we must continue to mobilize ladies and gentlemen, but we must look at these questions in a clear fashion; if not we will return to the same forum and make the same findings in 2008."
The next World Urban Forum will be held in Nanjing, China in 2008.
Feeds