The Future of Places III conference had a complex set of conclusions, summarised in the key messages on this link. However the messages from the 500+ participants dialogues and collaborative work was so much more, and I captured the three concluding sessions in videos, which are here below.
Cities need plans, strategies and frameworks that accommodate urban population changes and rapid growth to define a coherent public realm through fine-grained block patterns, arterial and street grids and other forms of public spaces. Open processes give residents the opportunity to participate in the planning, design and use of their city and its public spaces.
The first video is the reporting of the academic workgroups, chaired by Michael Mehaffy.
The second video is the reporting and discussion from the chairs of the constituent workgroups of Economy, Health, Environment, Gender Equality, Children, Heritage, Security and Urban form.
The third video contains the concluding remarks of Thomas Melin, Head of the Office of External Relations of UN Habitat, Inga Björk-Klevby, the former Deputy Executive Director of UN Habitat and Peter Elmlund, the creator of the Future of Places conferences, talking about how the Future of Places can proceed, now when the conference series is finished. As Peter Elmlund says “I don´t believe in a central organisation. The continuation must be a lose, nebulous network where you connect to each other.”