Green Urban Infrastructure in Asian Cities

Connective Cities virtual planning workshop

Overview

From August 3rd until August 14th, 2020 around 30 urban practitioners from 6 Asian Cities came together virtually to exchange their experiences and expertise in the field of Green Urban Infrastructure. Especially challenges in waste management and water sanitation were discussed intensively, as they represent pressing issues for many Asian cities.

The aim of the workshop was to further develop existing project ideas by discussing arising challenges and trying out new methods to find new perspectives and approaches to urban planning. The event was a follow-up to the dialogue event in Bandung, Indonesia in November 2019.

Due to the restrictions imposed on all of us by the Covid-19-pandemic, the event was conducted virtually by using the Connective Cities Platform. To ensure an enriching learning experience, the event took place over two weeks and included synchronous workdays with various keynote presentations as well as asynchronous days on which the participants could work on their project ideas at their own pace.

Six projects from Indonesia and Nepal were presented and further developed (see presentations).

Program

The virtual planning workshop began with an introductory session on August 3rd to get to know each other and to learn about the different technical tools used to facilitate the workshop. Following the initial session, four web-seminars were held on Wednesday, Friday and on Tuesday and Thursday of the following week. Each seminar lasted about 2 to 2.5 hours and included plenary sessions as well as group work in breakout-rooms. In these sessions the participants presented their project ideas and learned about methods of the Design Thinking process. These methods were then used in the breakout-rooms and on the asynchronous workdays. In addition, the program included various keynote presentations on the topic of Green Urban Infrastructure as well as relevant good practices.

Keynotes

Cities Developmet Initiative for Asia
Brian Capati – Civil Engineer and Urban Development Specialist

Parc Riu Llobregat
Victor Tenez Ybern – Director for Strategic Planning, The Metropolitan Area of Barcelona

Stadtwerke Aschaffenburg - All servicesfrom one source
Dieter Gerlach, Geschäftsführer, Stadtwerke Aschaffenburg

"Implementation plan for green infrastructure project" / Bandung, Indonesia
Sri Maryati, Research Cluster For Urban And Regional Infrastructure System, School Of Architecture, Planning, And Policy Development, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia

Financing Quality Urban Infrastructure
Joris van Etten - Senior Urban Development Specialist at the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Unit Head of CDIA, Asian Development Bank

Lessons Learned: Implementing Integrated Urban Development Projects
Dr. sc. ETH Haris Piplas, Blue City development - Integrated Urban Solutions

Results

By bringing together various project ideas and experts in the field of Green Urban Infrastructure, the representatives of each project idea were able to reflect on practical examples and challenges experienced by their peers. Through this exchange knowledge could be shared to improve the planning process of the different project ideas.

The implementation of the Design Thinking process further encouraged the participants to think in new directions and focused their attention on the effects/outcomes for the citizens most affected by the project. Together with input from financial experts this led to more structured and concrete action plans.

Although the whole event was conducted virtually, which was a new experience for most participants, the exchange of experiences and ideas between urban practioners from Asia and Europe worked out well. The implementation of new technical tools (like mural) for the planning process was well received and most participants used them extensively to improve their project idea.

Report

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Categories: Connective Cities Integrated urban development Public space Participation and urban planning The social city Cities and climate change Urban renewal Municipal services Solid waste management and recycling Water supply / sewage
Regions: Asia Indonesia Nepal

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