“The city is not the problem, but the solution,” says architect Jaime Lerner.
Throughout history, philosophers have been dreaming about the utopian city. The current age is faced with environmental challenges, and so many of today’s thinkers are dreaming of the sustainable utopian city. Mayors, visionaries, academics, entrepreneurs, scientists, designers and architects will all gather at the Design Museum in Holon, Israel this Thursday (April 7th) to discuss the concept of urban sustainability at a conference sponsored by the Design Museum, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Holon Municipality.
Sustainable cities make a great deal of promises to their residents. They promise: greater balance between the material needs of their residents and the preservation of the natural environment; the use of non-polluting and renewable energy sources; the establishment of non-polluting transportation systems, and more.
The agenda of this week’s conference will include the following speakers and lectures (among others):
- Green Berlin – Professor Frederic von Boris (Germany)
- The City is the Solution and Not the Problem – MK Dov Henin
- Sustainability as an Economic Stimulus – Professor Yehuda Kahana (Tel Aviv University)
- Green Construction in Israel – Rafi Raish (Ministry of the Interior)
- Promises and Realities – An open discussion among mayors and municipal authorities from Holon, Rishon Lezion, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Omer, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem
- Hiria, from Garbage Dump to Recycling Park – Doron Sapir
- Resources Stay in the City – Gilad Ostrovsky (Adam Teva v’Din)
- Smaller, Faster, Smarter – Architect Yotam Avizohar (CEO of “Israel Bike Paths”)
To learn more about the conference visit the Design Museum website (information about the conference in Hebrew only).
Read more about sustainable cities::
Planning the Sustainable City: Lessons from Bogota, Colombia
Yoav David, City Architect of Tel Aviv, Goes “EUREKA” about Urban Sustainability
Brazil’s Jaime Lerner Says “Cities are the Answer,” And Provides Hope and Model for the Urban Middle East
Author: Karen Chernick
Much to the disappointment of her Moroccan grandmother, Karen became a vegetarian at the age of seven because of a heartfelt respect for other forms of life. She also began her journey to understand her surroundings and her impact on the environment. She even starting an elementary school Ecology Club and an environmental newsletter in the 3rd grade. (The proceeds of the newsletter went to non-profit environmental organizations, of course.) She now studies in New York. Karen can be reached at karen (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
