Global Crisis Creates Opportunities for Urban Development
Jakarta, 28 February 2009
On the eve of the ASEAN Summit of Asian Ministers of Finance, where a special fund was established to meet the challenges of the global financial crisis, Budiarsa Sastrawinata, President of the World Urban Development Council, stated at a Conference in Jakarta that the current crisis could present major opportunities for urban development. The real estate sector, even being badly hurt by the crisis, is a sector that can lead the economic recovery through massive investment in infrastructure as well as in better and viable projects and in better quality and more sustainable developments. Two third of public investment in Europe is done by local authorities that are key actors in any recovery plan. The consensus is on the need to equip urban regions with powers and flexibility to unlock their full (sub-regional) economic potential, creating jobs and promoting skills. No matter how effective past solutions may have been, it is imperative to look for new innovative strategies to increase resistance to next crisis.

 
Can urban and territorial development be more sustainable?
Riga, Latvia, on October 26th 2008
Two traps must be avoided: the practical difficulty in exchanging experience, and the belief that if our problems are common the same solutions could be applied in every circumstance. Recipe for sustainability are not universal and each territory should work hard to develop its own answers to the crisis.
What role should local authorities play (governance) in organising urban space? New constraints (energy, environment, credit and debt, territorial competition etc.) are forcing local authorities to invent new ways of viewing their territories and to develop more effective co-operation. These constraints open up new possibilities that can reconcile public expectations with urban organisation, giving new impetus to local democracy and governance.
Different land management and regulations can reduce urban sprawl and social segregation; better redistribution of revenue from land management is a powerful tool to orient territorial development. Land price is a main obstacle to sustainable development because it constraints the right to housing for all and fosters urban sprawl.
Can we develop urban mobility for all while continuing to protect the environment? In times of expensive energy and fragile environment, services, networks and traffic can be optimised by engaging both private and public local players into different strategies and partnerships and by looking for more innovative process and products in urban mobility.