The City of Kuala Lumpur will host the ‘13th International Conference on World Class Sustainable Cities 2022 (WCSC 2022)’ to be held in September will be themed ‘KL2040: Towards A Liveable Urban Future’. The focus this year will be on how and what proactive steps need to be taken for cities to be a ‘Resilient, Sustainable & Liveable City’ in achieving a better quality of life in the areas of social inclusiveness, affordability, housing, accessibility, mobility, health, education, safety & security, vibrant public spaces and reducing carbon emissions to meet the impacts of global climate change.
Commenting on this year’s theme Organising Chairman Mr Chan Jin-why said “UN Habitat’s programme for Urban Resilience is the ability of any urban system to withstand and recover quickly from the impact of all plausible hazards and maintain continuity of functions. Its objectives are to provide national and local governments with reliable tools for assessing and improving the resilience of cities to multi-hazard impacts, including those related to climate change, and to improve the basis upon which decision-making in urban planning, development, and governance are made. Thus, a resilient urban system needs to be inclusive, adaptable, and persistent in order to make cities more inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable, while recognizing that it will take time to ensure a better and safer future for all citizens.”
“Further to that, Kuala Lumpur is also set to embark on an important planning policy direction through its new ‘Kuala Lumpur City Plan 2040’. Moving forward, Kuala Lumpur and other major cities will need to plan and prepare a comprehensive blueprint to face challenges resulting from the new normal in terms of climate change, technology disruptions, and demographic changes, to name a few in order to continue building a resilient urban future with a good quality of life for its people,” commented Mr Chan. “Liveability is the most important urban planning movement this century and is about creating a better future for us all. It is an international movement to reform the design of the built environment and is about raising our quality of life and standard of living by creating better places to live. The idea of liveable cities is integral to the formation of better future cities. Kuala Lumpur as a city is making marked changes by utilising the strategies for improvement including:-
- “Over the past 12 years, WCSC Partner Organizations have continued with efforts to educate and change public mindsets and perceptions on the benefits and challenges faced in becoming a World Class Sustainable and Liveable City. The achievement of such positive initiatives and progressive results implemented in Malaysia learned from past WCSC conference series include the transformation of Cheongyecheon River restoration in Seoul, Korea which was a great prelude to Kuala Lumpur’s River of Life project; Brazil’s Curitiba experience for its exemplary city transportation solutions; Hong Kong and Singapore’s pedestrianization projects that include covered walkway systems to make cities for the people; the metamorphosis of Kaohsiung, Taiwan from an industrial polluter to an ecological tourist hub demonstrating that liveable cities are creative and competitive; to name a few,” said Y Bhg Datin TPr Hjh Noraida Saludin, MIP President.
- “This year’s 1-day symposium will feature an exciting line-up of distinguished World-Class international and local speakers including panelists from Australia, China and Malaysia. They are globally renowned for their innovative ideas and solutions towards present and future urban planning issues and challenges in achieving the global goal of sustainable development, low carbon, resilient & liveable cities,” added Datin TPr Hjh Noraida Saludin.
- As part of the WCSC 2022 programme, concurrent events and activities being organized include ‘WCSC 2022 MasterClass’ workshops facilitated by conference speakers. Public & private sectors and city stakeholders are invited to join to share, learn, engage, create greater awareness, and better understand best practices.
