Urban planning in the context of global competition was the topic of an expert discussion at the Symposium "Inventing the Future"
The programme of the II International Symposium "Inventing the Future" at the National Centre RUSSIA includes the project laboratory "Cities in the Settling System of the Future: From a Multi-scale Strategy to a Living Environment". The panelists talked about what the future settling system should be like in order to effectively respond to the challenges predicted. The event was held as part of the "Society" track, and the Centre for Geodemography and Spatial Development of Lomonosov Moscow State University was its co-organizer.
The system of human settlement in terms of the national scale has a huge impact on the economy, industry, and even defense capability. Any imbalance poses some risks.
"Our cities and rural settlements do not exist by themselves, but are located in a single system. It is a living organism of our country. And it is very important to remember that this is not just some conditions for the development of an individual city, but a stable, viable system for the entire population," Alexander Panin, moderator of the event, Director of the Centre for Geodemography and Spatial Development at Lomonosov Moscow State University, Research Centre "Kartfond", economic geographer, opened the discussion.
Alexander Zhuravsky, Deputy Head of Presidential Directorate for Public Projects, explained in his speech why the settling system is an important factor in the national security of any state, and is an important component of economic and political strategy. At the same time, its effectiveness is determined by the ability to meet the key needs of a modern person.
"At each point of settling, it is necessary to create conditions for demographic development that will encourage families not only to stay, but also to build algorithms for their future, linking this with real changes. Because everyone thinks of not only what is present, but also of what will be," Alexander Zhuravsky believes.
Ruslan Dokhov, researcher at the Department of Socio-Economic Geography of Foreign Countries, Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University, noted the need for "spatial justice", which implies ensuring equal conditions for the development of all settlements in the country.
"It is important to ensure a variety of leisure activities within and near major cities, and for the rest of the territory – to develop a specialization. Where there are natural resources of the old type, we extract them, form a camp where people will work shifts. The rest of the territory provides us with creative resources, and with resources for recreation, for slowing down after living in a large city and, consequently, for us to produce complex services," Ruslan Dokhov noted.
Igor Zadorin, organizer and head of the Research Group "ZIRCON", Senior Researcher at the Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, focused on the issue of ensuring conditions for effective settling.
"There is an illusion that young people are moving to big cities because there are, relatively speaking, discos there. But they move because they see more options for their self-realization. If the country sees that just in 20 years a lot on its territory and in the world will be determined by the Arctic, it is necessary to create appropriate projects that will involve young people in this new movement," Igor Zadorin believes.
Guillermo Penalosa from Colombia, urbanist, founder and chairman of the organization "8 80 Cities" and founder of "Cities 4 Everyone", shared his vision of the cities of the future.
"If you're a great pizza cook, or you're a good doctor, or a good teacher, you can live anywhere. That's why cities today, and even more in the future, will compete for people. How to secure people, how to attract them – that's what the fight is about now. And that is why the quality of life is becoming a critically important factor," said Guillermo Penalosa.
Ken Yeang from Malaysia, architect, CEO of T. R. Hamzah & Yeang Sdn. Bhd., scientific writer, scientist in the field of "green architecture," is sure that in the context of modern environmental challenges, environmental ideas should become a key element of urban planning.
"We need to recreate and relaunch our cities in connection with nature. How can this be achieved? We need buildings to fit into the natural landscape. Everything that surrounds us must replicate nature. We have to redesign everything that we are building," Ken Yeang is convinced.
The II International Symposium "Inventing the Future" is being held at the National Centre RUSSIA on 7 – 8 October. It brought together participants from more than 85 countries, and from all subjects of the Russian Federation. It is attended by more than 260 Russian and foreign experts from China, the USA, Italy, Latin America, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
The International Symposium "Inventing the Future" is organized on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin under the auspices of the Decade of Science and Technology, with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. The analytical partner is the VTsIOM Analytical Centre. The literary partner is Eksmo-AST Publishing Group.
