Cities around the world have become frontrunners on sustainability, are key players in the green recovery, and are central to the UK and Italy COP26 campaigns. Acting jointly, they can be a real transformative power, offering a test ground for new ideas and innovation, and making climate action feel relevant and applicable to their citizens. At the same time, cities are increasingly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, requiring considerable investment into resilient infrastructure.
This event-duo curated by the Embassies of Italy and the UK to Germany as part of European Sustainable Development Week will offer a platform to discuss best practice from city-level climate action, drawing on experiences from Italy, the UK and Germany.
This digital event, in collaboration with BABLE smart cities, will explore innovative and ambitious approaches to reaching net-zero emissions at the city-level, with a focus on urban mobility concepts. An interactive format will allow for networking and provide an engaging space for city stakeholders, citizens and experts to explore together solutions and ideas for the urban transition.
SPEAKERS
Agathe Cavicchioli – COP26 High Level Climate Action Champion Team, and C40 Head of Advocacy
Alexander Schmidt – CEO and Founder, BABLE
Francesco Leone – Prime Counsellor and Head of the Economic Department, Italian Embassy to Germany
Renato Galliano – Director of the Urban Economy and Employment Division, City of Milan
Katrin Knur – Climate Manager, City of Bottrop
Steffen Braun – Head of Urban Systems Engineering Research Unit, Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO Stuttgart
Alex Greatholder – Senior Policy Officer, Transport for West Midlands
This event will be held on the online event platform Remo. The panel discussion will be followed by interactive breakout groups using the Remo conference tool.
What makes life in our cities so special is the variety of life scripts that can be developed, which is both a challenge and a freedom at the same time. The current pandemic has shown how fast advantages can turn into disadvantages, because cities are particularly exposed to the dictates of a viral outbreak due to their density and also their reliance on uninterrupted supply chains. Nonetheless, urban areas hold a great creative potential.
Today, more than ever, open and green spaces are a fundamental part of cities, they guarantee a certain freedom, because in these places we can experience and foster diversity, meet and relax in an informal way. Green and open spaces therefore require special attention from planning disciplines and from urban development institutions. Open spaces, whether they are designed at ground level or on rooftops, must be thought of as versatile spaces, because this is where their strength lies: Rainwater reservoirs, ventilation guarantors, fine-dust binders are of utmost importance for the urban climate. These ‘free’ (green) spaces can reduce inequalities and promote solidarity and cohesion in cities.
This second digital event will discuss with internationally experienced architects, thought-leaders and planners about the process capability of planning, the new time management of the cities and interdisciplinary solutions, which have to be found together with their users. Different approaches to the topic will be discussed across different municipalities and countries.
PANELISTS
Stefano Boeri – Architect and Urban Planner, Professor at Politecnico in Milan and Director of the Future City Lab in Shanghai
Judy Ling Wong – Painter, Poet, Environmentalist, and Honorary President of Black Environment Network (BEN)
Gillian Dick – Spatial Planning Manager at Glasgow City Council, Member of the Horizon 2020 European Project “Connecting Nature”
Hanno Rauterberg – Author and Deputy Head of Die Zeit’s Feuilleton
MODERATOR
Herbert Dreiseitl – Landscape Architect, Urban Designer, Founder of Atelier Dreiseitl and Director of Ramboll’s Liveable Cities Lab
This event will be held via Zoom and live-streamed HERE.
Both events are among the initiatives promoted by this Embassy as part of the annual Sustainable Development Festival, Italy’s largest campaign dedicated to the 2030 Agenda, with the aim to raise awareness and mobilise citizens, businesses, associations and institutions on the issues of economic, social and environmental sustainability, and to bring about cultural and political change that will enable Italy to implement the UN Agenda 2030 and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The Festival is organized by the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development (ASviS) every year since 2017 as platform to foster dialogue and share best practices.
