Cities are home to over half the world’s population, consume a majority of its resources and cause a large share of its waste. Cities are a challenge for global sustainability.
Cities are home to over half the world’s population, consume a majority of its resources and cause a large share of its waste. Cities are a challenge for global sustainability. They are also crucial for its solution. Their settlement density and networks of creativity provide the space and the ideas for improved resource management. Above all they epitomize the needs and aspirations of their citizens. They are spaces of longing and belonging with promises of social equitability, individual freedom and political participation.
Together with over a dozen think tanks from around the world CIDOB launched the Wise Cities research and action platform in 2016. It builds on existing concepts of city planning and management such as “sustainable city”, “green city”, “eco-city”, “ubiquitous city” and more recently “smart city”, but adds non-technocratic angles that are inspired by citizenship, such as socio-economic development, political participation and cultural diversity.
Cities on the southern and northern shores of the Mediterranean belong to the oldest in the world and can draw on a rich tradition of architecture, urban development and municipal administration. With all their differences, these cities share common pressing challenges such as environmental degradation, climate change, mass urbanization, migration, growing inequality and the fourth industrial revolution, just to name a few.
Against this backdrop the Kuwait Chair at Sciences Po holds a conference on 8-9 March 208 in Paris in collaboration with CIDOB on “Wise Cities” in the Mediterranean? The Challenge of Environmental and Social Sustainability.
The policy-oriented conference will gather city planners, policy makers, academics and representatives of NGOs and international organizations. It seeks to discuss alternative pathways of urbanization, engage citizens and develop ideas for the localization process of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
>> If you are interested in attending the seminar, contact Eckart Woert: ewoertz@cidob.org
Welcome Remarks. Enrico Letta, Dean, Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA) at Sciences Po and former Prime Minister of Italy
Key Note: Cities, Education and Integration. Wolfgang Schuster, Chairman Telekom Foundation, Honorary President of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) and former Mayor of Stuttgart
Mega Cities in the Mediterranean. Dominique Lorrain, Director of Research, French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS)
Tunis: A City in Political and Socio-economic Transition. Khaled Ben Abdesslem, MedCities, Tunis
Q&A. Moderator: Eckart Woertz, Scientific Advisor to the Kuwait Chair, Sciences Po, PSIA and CIDOB
Conceptual Discussion: “Wise Cities”, Enabling Participation, Managing Discontent
Moderator: Eckart Woertz, Scientific Advisor to the Kuwait Chair, Sciences Po, PSIA and CIDOB
Wise Cities in the Mediterranean: Conceptual framework and issues. Josep Coll, Consultant and CIDOB Senior Associate, Barcelona
Alexandria and other Egyptian coastal cities: Development challenges of “second cities”. Azza Sirry, Housing and Building National Research Center (HBRC), Cairo and Metropolis Associate
Locating the next Wise Cities in Urban Systems: The multilevel challenges of MENA’s emerging urban regions. Borja M. Iglesias, University of Lleida, Network for Strengthening the Informal City (NSIC), Consultant to the United Cities Local Governments (UCLG), Barcelona
NGOs and neighborhood initiatives: The case of Cairo. Ibraham Kareem, Takween Integrated Community Development, Cairo
Environmental Sustainability of Cities in the Mediterranean
Moderator: Patrick Le Galès, Sciences Po
Environment and Urban Security Risks. James Russell, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterrey, USA
Energy Transitions and Urban Governance. Eric Verdeil, Sciences Po
100 Resilient Cities Strategy: The case of Byblos, Lebanon. Tony Sfeir, CRO Byblos – 100 Resilient Cities
How can regional cooperation in the Mediterranean support cities’ efforts in energy transition?. Olgu Okumus, Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), Barcelona
Q&A (30 minutes)
Social Sustainability of Cities in the Mediterranean
Moderator: Josep Coll, Consultant and CIDOB Senior Associate, Barcelona
Preservation of Urban Cultures and Traditions: The history of urbanization in the Mediterranean. Marie Karner, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz
Runaway Urbanization in Tunis: Rethinking the Territorial Box of the Metropolis. Max Ajl, Cornell University
Mediterranean Cities and Vertical Farming: Fostering Sustainable Local Food Production and Building Neighborhood Esprit de Corps. Joel L. Cuello, University of Arizona
Informal Settlements’ Dwellers in Algeria: How local initiatives and practices contribute to improve living conditions. Farida Naceur, University of Batna, Algeria and Laboratoire RIVES, Lyon and Belmessous Fatiha, CNRS, Lyon
Q&A (30 minutes)
Economic Dynamics and Cities in the Mediterranean
Moderator: Eric Verdeil, Sciences Po
Building a prospective Mediterranean vision of local development through new economic and governance models, keeping man before technology. Jean-Charles Lardic, Deputy Head of General Management of Services and Director of Prospective in the City of Marseille, Member of United Cities Local Governments (UCLG)
Tourism: Opportunities and Pitfalls. Waleed Hazbun, American University of Beirut
Public Private Partnerships in an urban context: Case study of the New Cairo Wastewater Treatment Plant. Miquel Rodríguez Planas, IESE Business School, Barcelona
A smarter Rome: critical assessment of the new Food Waste Management Plan. Daniele Fattibene, IAI, Rome
Q&A (30 minutes)
Beyond the Mediterranean – Views from Neighboring Regions: The Gulf and Sub-Saharan Africa
Moderator: Farah Al-Nakib, American University of Kuwait
Why have Saudi cities sprawled in the last fifty years, and what does this mean for politics and religion?. Pascal Menoret, Brandeis University
The Aftermath of a Master Plan: An exploration into the forces shaping the Kuwaiti City. Sharifah Alshafan, LSE, London and Supreme Council for Planning and Development, Kuwait
Jeddah: A “Wise Old City” Facing the Challenges of Sustainability?. Elena Maestri, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (UCSC), Milano
Urbanization in Sub-Saharan Africa. Julia Bello-Schünemann, Lagos / Institute for Security Studies, Pretoria
Q&A (30 minutes)
Luis Gomez, Commissioner for Economic Promotion, Enterprise and Innovation, City of Barcelona
