The Secretary for Development, Mrs Carrie Lam, on the invitation of the organisers, will attend a conference on city planning at the Rockefeller Conference Centre in Bellagio, Italy from September 29 to October 2. The conference is organised by Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, the Municipal Art Society in New York and Happold Consulting, an urban development consultancy based in the United Kingdom.
The conference, sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation and titled "Jane Jacobs Revisited", marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of Jane Jacobs' "The Death and Life of Great American Cities". Her book challenged the conventional wisdom of city planning at the time, and called on the next generation of city-builders to create livable, vibrant and diverse cities - cities more suitable for the people that live and work in them.
At the conference, Mrs Lam will make a presentation on Hong Kong's experience and challenges in dealing with massive urbanisation. She will exchange views with 20 other participants from the United States and Europe who work in architecture, engineering, real estate development, economics, urban planning and community engagement in the public and private sectors. The participants will discuss current challenges in planning and building cities, and consider how Jacobs' model city can be updated to reflect the constraints and opportunities of city-building in the 21st century.
Mrs Lam will return to Hong Kong on October 3.
Ends/Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Issued at HKT 16:05
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