International Experts on Urban Development to Convene July 30-August 3, 2012

For more information, contact Trish Riggs, 202-624-7086

WASHINGTON (July 25, 2012) — The Urban Land Institute (ULI) is partnering with The Citistates Group to host a Global Metropolitan Summit at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center in Bellagio, Italy July 30 through August 3, 2012 to explore urban growth issues related to the rapid urbanization of fast-growing metropolitan markets throughout the world.

ULI is a multidisciplinary research and education institute dedicated to responsible land use and creating thriving communities worldwide. Established in 1936 in the United States to serve as an objective authority on real estate and urban development, ULI now has nearly 30,000 members globally. The Citistates Group, founded by nationally acclaimed urban affairs columnist Neal Peirce, government and civic leader and writer Curtis Johnson, and longtime public policy analyst and strategist Farley Peters, is a network of journalists, speakers and civic leaders focused on building competitive, equitable and sustainable 21st century cities and metropolitan regions.

Participants in the ULI/Citistates Global Metropolitan Summit will include more than 30 of the world’s foremost experts in land use, finance, social equity and governance, from both developing and developed countries, who are convening to discuss the challenges and opportunities presented by the dramatic urban evolution occurring in many parts of the world. The program typifies the type of idea exchange frequently held at the Bellagio Center, established by the Rockefeller Foundation to promote innovation and identify impact-oriented solutions to critical global problems.

The summit will include an emphasis on fast-growing cities throughout the world, but especially those in Africa, Central and Latin America and much of Asia, collectively known as the Global South. In 2000, the population of the Global South was approximately 4.9 billion; by 2020, it is expected to be 6.4 billion. This rapid growth is being accompanied by both the uncertainty of political, social, and economic upheaval; and the potential for unprecedented economic growth, investment, and cultural contributions. According to ULI Chief Executive Officer Patrick L. Phillips, this set of circumstances is a timely backdrop for the Global Metropolitan Summit. “Clearly, fast-growing cities across the globe face extensive challenges in creating places that are prosperous, environmentally sensitive and socially equitable,” said Phillips, who is serving as the summit facilitator. “Through this summit, we will develop a strategy for a community of practice to help public leaders and decision makers in guiding the growth of these urban areas.”

“Developing cities can reap real benefits, and avoid huge future costs, by thinking early and strategically about their systems of water, energy, and transportation, and the environmentally sensitive use of public and other open space,” Peirce said. “We hope this summit, with its wide range of attendees’ expertise, will identify a number of inventive planning and investment approaches, including but not limited to the inventive application of fast-evolving information technologies.”

The summit attendees will consider urban development from four perspectives – efficient transportation systems, access to water, energy consumption, and open space preservation – each of which is a necessary component of sustainable community building. Leading discussions on these issues will be Eugenie Birch, Lawrence C. Nussdorf Professor or Urban Research and Education at the University of Pennsylvania; Nicholas You, urban and intergovernmental expert and former senior policy and strategic planning adviser for UN-Habitat; former ULI J.C. Nichols laureate Peter Calthorpe, principal at Calthorpe Associates; and Enrique Penalosa, former mayor of Bogotà, Colombia.

Attendees will be divided into teams exploring the four issues and real-world examples of innovation – a program, partnership or investment — related to each topic. They will then identify five elements critical to successful implementation of the plan that can be applied universally across disparate financial and regulatory contexts. At the conclusion of the summit, the participants will have developed an action-based strategy for engaging stakeholders involved in these issues and providing them best practices in urban development related to energy and water use, and the provision of public space and transportation systems.

Urban development experts scheduled to attend include: Joseph Azrack, president and chief executive officer, Apollo Global Real Estate, USA; Richard Baron, co-founder and chief executive officer, McCormack Baron Salazar, USA; Mathewos Bekele, chief planner, City of Addas Ababa, Ethiopia; Adele Chatfield-Taylor, president, American Academy in Rome; Sean Chiao, executive vice president, China, AECOM, China; Gordon Feller, director, urban innovations, Cisco Systems, Inc., USA; Bart Harvey, former chairman, Enterprise Community Partners, USA; Ellen Hamilton, lead land and housing specialist, World Bank, USA; Cheong Koon Hean, chief executive officer, Housing Development Bureau of Singapore; Mahim Maher, city editor, Express Tribune, Karachi, Pakistan; Syed Mustafa Kamal, Senator, Pakistan; Arthur Margon, principal, Rosen Consulting, USA; Sergio Anibal Martinez, director general of planning and transport, government of Mexico City, Mexico; Gerard Mooney, vice president, Global Smarter Cities, IBM, USA; Christine Platt, executive director, Commonwealth Association of Planners, South Africa; Richard Rosan, president, ULI Foundation, USA; Byron Stigge, associate director, infrastructure group, Buro Happold, USA; Christophe Tanghe, head of corporate strategy, ING Real Estate Investment Management, UK ; Marilyn Taylor, dean, University of Pennsylvania School of Design, USA; Pablo Vaggione, consultant, Design Convergence, Spain; Chetan Vaidya, director, Institute of Urban Affairs, India; and Ronald Weidner, founder, Greenprint Foundation, USA.

“While there is vast social, regulatory and economic diversity inherent across global cities, they all share the desire for long-term prosperity,” Phillips said. “We will showcase the successful city building strategies that can be achieved by turning innovative ideas into reality.”

About the Urban Land Institute
The Urban Land Institute (uli.org) is a nonprofit education and research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in sustaining and creating thriving communities worldwide. Established in 1936, the Institute has nearly 30,000 members representing all aspects of land use and development disciplines.