Sustainable Development: An Extension of a City’s Uniqueness
Every city around the world is different. Some are located in valleys. Some grew up around a river. Some have long storied histories. Some stand out for their art. Some serve as a new beginning; a beacon for people looking for opportunity. And some, serve as a final place for retirement. But what makes a city worth visiting? Living in? Investing in? It’s the unique character of each place that calls out. There’s a city out there for everyone.
This character or personality that a city has is a great roadmap for its development direction. This is apparent in infrastructure improvement, reducing inequality, implementing new technology and innovation, and promoting well-being. Essentially, the needs of the people in each city will dictate in which ways these various improvements should be done. Of course, other factors like economic, social, and environmental should also be taken into account for proper sustainable growth.
These following cities are excellent examples of this character centered development - all successful prototype cities in their own right.
Hong Kong: developed around a high-speed rail system.
One of the major limitations of Hong Kong is space. All land is government owned and very little of it is actually allocated for rent. This has a profound effect on the citizens of the city as it is one of the most expensive locations to live on the planet and also one of the most densely populated. Traffic in a place such as this could be a real nightmare if the city was built up around personal vehicle use let alone the cost of a parking spot. However, Hong Kong is able to accommodate this density with a world class public transportation system.
Hong Kong has been developed around this transit system. Residential areas are built near and even sometimes on transit stations under the Rail plus Property (R+P) idea that every station should be a center to support both economic and recreational activities.
One of the most recognizable mega structures in the city is Kowloon Station, a transportation hub with links to trains, the airport, buses, and taxis. It also features office buildings, a shopping mall, a hotel, and apartments housing up to 20,000 residents. At the top of the building is the Green Plaza, a rare expanse of open green space right in the downtown core of the city; as well as the Sky Corridor, a vertical garden on the station’s curved rooftop.
Hong Kong is able to use its own land constraints as a unique opportunity, successfully transitioning to a beautiful pedestrian friendly city where three quarters of the population live within just 1 km of a mass transit station.
Austin: developed as a center for startup business research and development
Austin, Texas has been dubbed the new Silicon Valley of the United States due to its rapid expansion of business startups and an influx of entrepreneurs and professionals. In 2019, StartupBlink ranked Austin as the 11th best startup ecosystem in the world.
This sudden boom was not by sheer accident. It was brought on by a combination of various factors. The city is very conducive to growing a business as it offers a high quality of life at a far lower cost of living than other major cities in the USA. Austin also offers world class post-secondary education that works in collaboration with local industries. State policies support small businesses and entrepreneurs. That makes the city a magnet for both talent and investors from all over the world.
Speaking of quality of life, Austin offers a very fun culture and lifestyle to its residents with plenty of festivals throughout the year including SXSW Music Festival, the Austin City Limits Music Festival, and Fantastic Fest. The city is also a hotbed for producing films, art, video games, and more. These projects and events are the result of a push to prioritize creativity in the city since 2012.
Austin has thrived as a confluence of art, music, and digital technology. Its creative industry sector is an important component of that success with a huge impact on local economy generating an estimated $4.35 billion per year as well as 49,000 new jobs.
Copenhagen: developed as an industrial city that embraces green technology
Copenhagen, the Danish capital, is ranked as one of the best places to live on the planet according to the Global Liveability Index 2023. It was also recognized as the World Capital of Architecture 2023 by UNESCO-UIA.
However, just a few decades ago, Copenhagen was a rather shabby industrial fishing city - wreathed in the pollution of coal plants and petroleum, and dealing with sewage contamination in its water sources. A new development plan was introduced in the 1990s to make the city’s industries more environmentally friendly.
Fast forward a few years and now, Copenhagen is on track to become the world’s first carbon neutral capital by 2025, a monumental achievement that saw the city replace its coal energy with wind turbines and biomass; and its troubled infrastructure with state-of-the-art sustainable construction projects. One such project is CopenHill.
CopenHill is a power plant that produces electricity by converting waste into energy. However, it also serves as a recreation center offering a rock-climbing wall, hiking trails, an environmental learning center and even a ski slope all in one. It’s truly a testament to how urban infrastructure can be good for the people as well as the planet.
Copenhagen is also focused on reducing pollution from transportation. Hundreds of bicycle paths and dedicated lanes have been built throughout the city making cycling an affordable, efficient, and sustainable option to get to school and work. As a result, the number of bicycles in the city has now surpassed the number of cars reducing the emissions from transportation substantially.
With values centered around green energy and sustainability, Copenhagen is able to attract an international private sector that shares similar values. Furthermore, the city established the Copenhagen Solutions Lab to develop public-private partnerships to create new green innovations and continuously improve the quality of life for local city residents.
Milan: developed around preserving cultural heritage and art
Milan, Italy is recognized as a prime destination for travelers interested in art and culture. Here, a visitor can marvel at Roman architecture in the heart of the city, and then go to view the Last Supper by the legendary Leonardo Da Vinci himself.
Taking a step back from the romance of the art on display, it is interesting to see how the city has developed over the years around these types of attractions.
Milan has nurtured a huge number of designers, particularly within the fashion world. The city is a creative mecca and is home to nearly 15,000 creative companies powered by almost 200,000 employees which means that in addition to preserving the city’s cultural heritage, Milan is also fostering a strong contemporary art community as well.
Even with more than 400 museums, galleries, cinemas, theaters, and concert halls in the city, Milan is still creating new art spaces for the community. A Name in Every Neighborhood is a project that allows artists and residents alike to come together and design street art to tell the stories of the 88 communities that make up the city. The Performing Arts Festival for the Disabled was also recently introduced which speaks to the importance of inclusivity.
Milan continues to push art into new dimensions of urban development as well. This can be seen in its new botanical garden that is both a public green space and an outdoor performance venue.
Source :
https://en.unesco.org/creative-cities/austin
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