Summer Issue 2021 - 31

ULI MEETINGS HIGHLIGHTS 2021
Yuriko Koike, Sally Capp, Ahmed Aboutaleb, Greg Clark
Three City Leaders Empowering a Sustainable
Recovery
Reducing carbon emissions,
revitalizing city centers, and
empowering communities to
drive a sustainable recovery
are the key challenges facing
leaders of world cities.
During the 2021 ULI Asia
Pacific Summit, the leaders
of three of the world's most
dynamic cities were interviewed-Yuriko
Koike, governor
of Tokyo; Sally Capp, lord
mayor of Melbourne; and
Ahmed Aboutaleb, mayor of
Rotterdam-to learn about
the past year and their plans
for the future. Hiroo Mori,
director and executive vice president, Mori
Building, also participated.
Moderator Greg Clark, group adviser on
future cities and new industries at HSBC, said
city leaders have had an extraordinary role
over the past 12 months trying to make cities
safe while allowing business to continue as
much as possible, all the while with an eye on
the post-pandemic urban recovery.
Tokyo is focusing on a sustainable recovery
after suffering relatively lightly during
the COVID-19 pandemic, with " sustainable
recovery " being the key notion, Koike said.
" We need to achieve sustainable recovery
and sustainable growth in all areas of Tokyo's
policies so that we can evolve into a city
where everyone can live happily and with
peace of mind, " she said. This involves more
people-centered, walkable development and
an acknowledgment that Tokyo is not just the
business districts in the heart of the city, but
also its islands and nature-rich areas.
As part of the Paris Agreement on climate
change, Tokyo has introduced a cap-and-trade
scheme for carbon emissions to reduce the
carbon footprint of the city and has committed
to reducing carbon emissions to 50 percent
of 2000 levels by 2030. Koike also said she
hopes Tokyo can become an international
center for green finance, attracting overseas
asset managers and financial technology
companies.
Clockwise
from top
left: Greg
Clark, Sally
Capp, Ahmed
Aboutaleb,
Yuriko Koike,
Hiroo Mori.
Melbourne suffered one of the longest
city lockdowns during the pandemic, which
was devastating, Capp said. However, the
crisis brought government bodies together,
enabling cooperation and rapid action. For
example, Melbourne accelerated the delivery
of 25 miles (40 km) of protected bike lanes,
originally scheduled to be delivered over an
eight-year period, as well as permitted more
outdoor dining to support local businesses.
In the future, Melbourne is looking for " big
city-shaping projects that create economic
stimulus, but also have a long-term legacy for
the city and the community, " she said. A key
lesson of the pandemic was the importance of
public open space and community uses. As a
consequence, there will be more community
input into future plans, she said.
Capp said her administration is still studying
the impacts of the pandemic and learning
its effects on employment, work styles, and
thus the built environment in the city. But, she
added, " we feel very confident that people will
still come to the city to work. " Office vacancy
rates have risen, but that has allowed growing
startups to find affordable space in the city,
she said.
One positive aspect of 2020 for Rotterdam
was the " tremendously high level of social
solidarity in the city, " said Aboutaleb. However,
the pandemic revealed gaps in its disaster
planning, which are being addressed with
Melbourne accelerated the delivery of 25
miles (40 km) of protected bike lanes,
originally scheduled to be delivered over an
eight-year period.
a new institute. Rotterdam is committed to a
greener future, and Aboutaleb has earmarked
€300 million ($365 million) for new green
spaces, which he hopes will attract businesses
and further development.
Aboutaleb said he expects less use of
downtown office and retail space, which could
be repurposed for more housing to create a
better balance of living, working, and leisure
uses in the city. The city has commissioned
a national research institute to examine the
city's future needs and where it will be best to
develop.
As part of its commitment to sustainability,
Rotterdam is working on an ambitious plan to
capture carbon emissions from the city's port
and associated industries and send them in
a pipeline to the North Sea, where they can
be pumped into former oilfields as part of a
carbon sequestration plan.
But the panelists agreed that further innovation
and investment are needed to make
the world's cities more attractive and sustainable
for the future.-M.C.
SUMMER 2021
URBAN LAND
31
Summer Issue 2021

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