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This paper is part of Turning Ideas into Action, a themed series created in preparation for the 2006 World Urban Forum. Together, this series forms a mosaic that sheds light on a common focus: the city. On a global scale, cities have become the dominant form of human settlement, socially, economically, environmentally and politically. The papers begin to examine how cities can continue to be dynamic and inclusive places in which to live and thrive. By illustrating explorations of the city with powerful stories of promising practices, the papers emphasize the assets from which cities draw their strength, and highlight dynamic participatory processes in action. Research for each paper draws on extensive experience in planning and managing cities. Selected lessons provide knowledge to achieve locally relevant solutions and supportive policies at the regional, national and global levels. They demonstrate the complexities of how cities evolve and transform, and challenge assumptions that are often taken for granted. Finally, the papers encourage the reader to view the world from different perspectives and discover successful and innovative solutions appropriate to their relevant conditions.
WUF 2006 will build on Canada's historic leadership in bringing the UN Conference on Human Settlements to Vancouver in 1976. It will also benefit from Canadian experience in improving human settlements at home and abroad. The 1976 UN meeting pioneered a participatory process of member nations and NGO's, and created a worldwide focus for human settlements issues through the establishment of the UN Centre for Human Settlements in Nairobi, now known as UN-HABITAT. WUF 2006 is part of an historic trajectory of UN Conferences and represents the 30 th anniversary of HABITAT '76. These papers are intended to initiate an informed dialogue on the scope and scale of the evolving urban agenda through Turning Ideas into Action locally, regionally, nationally and across the world.
This paper is one of a series of discussion papers prepared in anticipation of the World Urban Forum 2006.
The papers in this series include:
The Capable City
The International Centre for Sustainable Cities
This paper examines non-traditional forms of governance with
an emphasis on consensus that has emerged in a Canadian context
and responds to three questions. Are there models of cooperation
across jurisdictions that might provide lessons for city regions
that do not require mergers? Are there models for management of
global common goods – such as watersheds, that do not involve
legislative powers? Are there models based on consensus and voluntary
agreements across sectors that show promise for influencing decision
making related to sustainability?
Three Canadian cases are presented: the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD); the Fraser Basin Council (FBC); and the National Round Table on the Environment and Economy (NRTEE). The models are assessed using UN-HABITAT's criteria for good governance. The findings, along with pertinent literature and experience on governance and capacity building, yield observations and recommendations about their application to other cities.
The Ideal City
Department of Art History, Visual Art and Theory, University
of British Columbia
This paper explores the history and force of ideal city planning
and the related literary and visual genres of Utopian -- and Dystopian
-- speculation. The Ideal City represents a highly significant
aspect of human thought and endeavour, usually conceived in response
to actual problems as well as intended to effect substantive improvement
in the daily social lives of individual citizens. Linked
to a thematic knowledge resource intended to establish an
interactive website, this paper reviews the main constituents
of the Ideal City tradition, examines its impact on the design
of urban settlement, including across Canada and
in Vancouver, and indicates how such conceptual approaches
to the building of a better civic environment and society can contribute
to the creation of more sustainable, habitable and civilized cities
in the 21st century.
The Learning City
Simon Fraser University
The learning city is a city that approaches sustainable development
as an ongoing educational process. This paper focuses particularly
on the role of universities and colleges in the learning city,
examining the different dimensions of sustainability education
and best practices from British Columbia, across Canada and internationally.
Lessons from this are applied to envisioning a new Centre for the
Learning City in Vancouver's new Great Northern Way Campus.
The Livable City
The International Centre for Sustainable Cities
This paper is a case study of the Greater Vancouver Regional
District (GVRD) in Canada, the host region for the World Urban
Forum 2006. Drawing on the literature on livable cities and the
region's efforts to bring this concept into practice, the
paper poses two central questions: What key factors affect the
livability of a city and how does livability relate to sustainability?
Livability is defined as "quality of life" as experienced
by the residents within a city or region, and the paper concentrates
on a case study of planning for Greater Vancouver including the
Livable Region Strategic Plan, the Sustainable Region Initiative,
and the cities PLUS 100-year vision for the GVRD. The paper provides
lessons for other cities and regions, and concludes that for Greater
Vancouver, livability, sustainability and resiliency are three
intertwined elements that together will define the quality of life
of current and future residents.
The Planning City
The Canadian Institute of Planners
This paper looks at sustainability as a dynamic, continuous process
of sharing and exchanging knowledge and experiences, and of learning
through action. It contributes to this learning process by reviewing
key trends and challenges that confront those responsible for planning
cities in Canada and overseas. Examples of urban planning innovations
and experimentations are drawn from a sample of cities and taken
from the perspective of the urban planner who is usually a central
actor in efforts to articulate, plan for and implement urban sustainability.
The paper concludes with key findings, and offers direction about
processes, structures and methods that could enhance the effort
to achieve urban sustainability.
The Resilient City
Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women's Services,
Government of British Columbia
This paper explores the resiliency of small Canadian communities
dependent upon single resource industries by examining how they
have coped with the economic and social pressures arising from
the closure of their industries. It summarizes how they have managed
their transition from communities existing to serve resource exploitation
exclusively to communities based on a different, broader economy
and suggests lessons from the Canadian experience that may be transferable
to resource-based communities around the world.
The Youth Friendly City
The Environmental Youth Alliance
This paper explores what opportunities exist for the greater recognition
of the rights and needs of children and youth in urban settings through
a significantly enhanced role in urban governance and community building.
By enabling children and youth to participate fully in their own
development and environment, this paper demonstrates the potential
among youth for building capacity, and for becoming insightful resources
in developing strong and thriving local neighbourhoods and cities.