Come October and Australia will be host to an array of leaders from across the globe taking part in the 9th World Congress of Metropolis. Held every three years in a different global city, the congress is organised by the Metropolis Association. The conference at Sydney would bring together 1,000 leading academics, government representatives and industry experts to discuss key issues facing the world?s major cities.
For the first time in history more than half of the world?s populations live in urban areas, which make the congress even more significant this year. World leaders feel that never before has it been more important that issues facing modern cities are addressed and also ideas and experiences are shared on key issues such as climate change, technology, transport, governance and urban renewal. The role of Sydney and Australia in the Asia Pacific region will be explored as part of the events. The overarching theme of the congress will be ?Connecting Cities? and there will also be a strong focus on cities in China and India. The Metropolis Association estimates that by 2015, 55% of cities with populations of more than one million will be located in the Asia-Pacific region.
?The participants in the Congress will learn new ideas on how to make better cities and a lot of issues will be focussed upon like social sustainability, energy and water, culture and public private partnerships to make living in cities a better experience,? says Chris Johnson, chairman, Metropolis Congress 2008. The overall theme of the Congress will be highlighting the increasing importance of cities as principal hubs of international interaction. Johnson cited the example of how the private sector both in India and Australia, is becoming more involved in the provision of motorways, water supplies, public transport and other services. The summit will also look at how innovation is delivering improved services in some cities, without having to rely on more taxes.
India holds an important position on the global radar and it is important that issues related to the growing urban cities are looked at feel global experts. ?Delhi began as a small city. But it has started growing with people from different cities coming in for jobs adding a lot of stress on the infrastructure of the city,? says Johnson. He emphasised that the congress will give a chance to the Indian representatives to look at the Sydney model of planning and also share ideas with other countries. He further added, ?The Congress can open up new ideas that visiting cities can take back. This has been the case with previous Congresses. Many contacts can also be made with potential private sector suppliers of services.?
Having met the Mayors of Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Pimpiri and the Commissioners of these cities as well as senior people in the Maharasta state government and within the national government, Johnson is hoping that the summit will have a good participation from India. ?I also met people from the Tata Consulting Services and the Director of All Indian Institute of Local self government. The Mayors were very keen to come to the Congress in Sydney both to present their cities and to learn from other cities. They were also keen to continue a dialogue with Metropolis after the Congress through workshops in Indian cities,? says Johnson.