| Musaed Al-Saleh joins the panel at the World Economic Forum Middle East Summit |
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| Building Sustainable Cities |
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 By 2030, 60% of the world’s population will live in a city, pointed out Joachim Kundt, Chief Executive Officer, Siemens, United Arab Emirates. The Middle East in particular is experiencing rapid urbanization that outpaces that of Europe and the United States. “The tilt of growth from the West to the East,” said John K. Defterios, Group Vice-President, Content, and Anchor, United Kingdom, FBC Media, United Kingdom, is manifest in Middle Eastern cities.
While some of those cities have grown at meteoric rates, others have managed their expansion – but all are experiencing change. If development is not sustainable, how will economic growth be impacted? What are the pillars of sustainability?
Defterios suggested that management of resources, cultural and economic sustainability and environmental concern are all critical elements of successful cities. “The issue here is the selfishness of mankind,” said Omar Maani, Mayor, Greater Amman Municipality, Jordan. Maani argued that cities have to keep the future in mind as they grow.
In the case of Amman, which has experienced a thousand-fold population increase in the last 80 years, such central planning has been difficult. Much of that population growth has come in bursts – often resulting from conflict in neighbouring countries – but Maani emphasized that Amman is nonetheless harnessing the human potential through planning. He labelled the protection of open spaces as “one of the most important issues that any city has to deal with.”
Dubai has implemented several policies to try to preserve that public space, said Saeed Al Muntafiq, Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum on the Middle East; Executive Chairman, Tatweer, and Chairman of the Board, Young Arab Leaders, United Arab Emirates. The emirate is restricting new projects to limit density in particular zones; encouraging “green buildings”; limiting access of cars to the city; and using new technologies to manage transportation schemes.
The region must “design a sustainable value system,” said Al Muntafiq. Such values must include tolerance of religious and cultural diversity, an enshrinement of broad-based education and training and a respect for the environment. While enlightened leaders are important, those values must embed themselves in the hearts of everyone. “Sustainability has to be driven by all people at the end of the day,” he said.
Participants agreed that environmental protection was a sine qua non of sustainable growth. “All cities of the world represent less than 1% of the earth,” said Musaed Al Saleh, Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, National Projects Holding, Kuwait, “and yet they produce 80% of the greenhouse gases.” Such environmental impact can lead to sick populations – and slow economic growth over the long term.
Panellists and participants were divided on the replicability of the “Dubai model”. “What is going on is like fashion,” said Mohammed Alshaya, Chairman, Alshaya Group, Kuwait. “Some get carried away with projects that will be difficult to sustain.” Alshaya said that Kuwait has pursued a more deliberate pace to development, involving the leverage of local resources rather than massive foreign investment.
Alshaya warned that breakneck growth can lead to massive environmental degradation and high rates of inflation. He called for “complementary” development schemes among cities in the region. Not everyone can follow the same growth model, he said, and coexistence means some degree of coordination. Maani agreed, and said that good relations between national leaders would clearly facilitate such coordination. |
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