Conference | SÃo Paulo | December 2008
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Over 40 presentations about innovative urban
transformations in 14 countries set the stage for the Urban Age
South America conference, the eighth in a now annual series of
interdisciplinary investigations into the future of cities. On 3 – 5
December 2008, the Urban Age brings together 100 leaders in city
making – mayors, policymakers, eminent scholars and authors
side-by-side with the architects and planners of major urban
regeneration projects around the globe – to address the key social,
spatial and economic issues underlying urban growth in South
America. Focusing in-depth on the significant structural changes
affecting São Paulo, Brazil's largest city and major economic
powerhouse - with a growing population of over 19 million it is
today the 5th largest city in the world - the Urban Age South
America conference concludes a year of research into regional urban
trends into the region’s five fastest growing cities, São Paulo, Rio
de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Bogotá and Lima.
Compared to the unprecedented levels of urbanisation currently being
experienced in Asia and Africa, many South American cities have
consolidated their growth and settlement patterns over the last
decades. From Bogotá to Curitiba, a number of South American cities
demonstrate leadership in addressing environmental and social
sustainability in the developing world. Others like São Paulo, Rio
de Janeiro and Buenos Aires tackle social exclusion and the problems
associated with the widening income gap with new policies and
governance structures aimed at delivering more sustainable urban
environments. While the barrios and favelas continue to grow,
initiatives aimed a 'retrofitting' these informal settlements are
creating more inclusive and stable places for people to live.
The Urban Age South America conference offers a mirror to reflect on
these issues with the world’s leading experts of urban change. The
impact of ever-increasing sprawl on energy consumption and
pollution, the exponential increase in car ownership and the
debilitating effect of uncontrolled growth on basic urban
infrastructure – such as public transport, water and sewer systems –
are analysed in the context of emerging governance structures, a
growing service economy and new forms of political engagement.
The Urban Age South America is organised in association with the
State of São Paulo, the Municipality of São Paulo, the University of
São Paulo and Centro de Estudo de Politica e Economia do Setor
Publico at the Foundation Getulio Vargas. Earlier this year,
workshops in São Paulo and London with international and local urban
experts analyses the core themes of social exclusion and urban
violence, public transport and mobility, and the relationship
between urban growth and infrastructure provision.
In parallel to these activities, the second annual Deutsche Bank
Urban Age Award identified initiatives in the São Paulo Metropolitan
Region which encourage people to take responsibility for their
cities and form new alliances to improve the lives of urban
citizens. Winner of the US$ 100,000 award announced 3 December 2008.
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