The 2015 Global City Forum, themed as “Global Cities: Innovation and Design” was grandly held at the Baoshan Campus of Shanghai University on November 1, 2015.
Li Peilin, Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and President of Shanghai Academy, and Zhou Hanmin, Vice Chairman of Shanghai Committee of CPPCC, attended and addressed the forum, and more than 300 representatives from the World Bank, the Development Research Center of the State Council, and Shanghai Development Strategy Research Group for the Next 30 Years, as well as other specially invited guests from both home and abroad were present at the forum.
Li Peilin spoke highly of the successful launch of the forum. He noted that the forum ran concurrently with the Fifth Plenary Session of 18th CPC Central Committee, at which it was stressed that “comprehensively building a moderately prosperous society by 2020” is the first of “Two Centenary Goals” set by the CPC. To achieve the goal, Shanghai, as the leading city in the urban agglomeration of the Yangtze River delta, must make innovation the core of social development and constantly advance innovation in theories, institutions, science & technologies and culture. It also needs to introduce fresh ideas in urban governance, employ new technologies and means, and take for reference the advanced experience of other super-large cities in ameliorating urban dysfunction, so as to build diversified and integrated urban and rural communities, foster a city spirit characterized by openness and inclusiveness, improve the city’s security capability, enable urban governance, multi-party input, and realize smart operation and management. Li noted that Shanghai must: achieve transformation of its development mode, strictly control population density, improve efficiency of land utilization, work to achieve regional development synergy, and optimize the spatial structure of the urban area, so as to develop into an excellent city of global note.
In his welcoming and keynote speeches, Zhou Hanmin pointed out that the World Expo successfully held in Shanghai five years ago has left precious spiritual wealth to the nation and made far-reaching impact. He shared many wonderful anecdotes with the audience, as a witness to the preparation for the Shanghai World Expo, saying that the Expo has been inspirational in five aspects: in its people–oriented approach, science & technological innovation, cultural diversity, cooperation for shared goals, and in its futuristic orientation. Future urban development should adopt these ideas, to realize the pursuit of “Better City, Better Life”.
The forum included both luncheon and keynote lectures, parallel sub-forums and a closing ceremony. Both domestic and foreign guests and experts gathered, sharing their planning experience of New York, London, Tokyo and other international cities in a lively exchange of ideas about science & technological innovation, industrial upgrading, social governance and cultural integration issues facing Shanghai in its transformation, over the next three decades, into a global city.
Abhas K. Jha, Practice Manager, Urban Rural Social Resilience Global Practice, World Banksaid that metropolitan areas are the powerhouses of the global economy. But amid globalization and diversification, a major challenge to integration in establishing a sound and effective governance system is that every metropolitan area in the region is under rising cost pressure. Progress, then, must be undertaken step by step and greater consensus on development will be needed to meet future challenges. Shanghai can set an example in leading integrated development in the future.
The director of the Department of Development Strategy and Regional Economy, of the State Council’s Development Research Center, Hou Yongzhi, analyzed the factors determining the rise and fall of a city, as well as the power that has driven the development of Shanghai in the past thirty years. He considered that Shanghai will face unprecedented opportunities and challenges in the next three decades, and should make innovation the fundamental driver and key support for development, make industrial upgrading, innovation-based development, ecological construction, enhance openness to the external world, make innovation in urban governance a pillar, expand the scale of industry based on an optimized structure, create a sustainable environment for improving its global influence and build itself into a harmonious city, while embracing globalization.
The director of the Development Research Center of Shanghai Municipal People’s Government, Doctor Xiao Lin, said that in the next three decades, Shanghai must change its development philosophy, focus more on humanistic development driven by innovation and led by openness, as well as cultural soft power and “bottom-line thinking”. In 2050, Shanghai will become a city of global note and influence, innovation power and capability for sustainable development, as well as retaining the distinctive characteristics of Chinese civilization, a flourishing city that can offer greater opportunity and diversity of function, a lively city full of innovation and competition, a livable city with beautiful, comfortable and convenient environment, a human-oriented city that’s friendly, inclusive, harmonious and diversified, and a demonstration city characterized by equality, sharing and efficient governance. Therefore, greater efforts must be made to improve balance, inclusiveness and sustainability, and constantly enhance the city’s core competence.
TM Forum president Mr. Peter Sany, said that with the constant development of human civilization, an increasing number of people will urbanise. This growing and aging population will put huge pressure on cities and create a chain of problems, including; air pollution, traffic congestion, urban waste disposal, energy consumption, and medical treatment for the elderly. Making cities smarter is the key to addressing these challenges. Only by building big data and cloud platforms with information technologies, communication technologies and the internet-of-things connecting every information island in cities, and establishing an interconnected digital ecological system, can we achieve the ultimate goal of “better city, better life” and witness the bright future of smart cities.
Li Youmei, Vice President of Shanghai University, said that Shanghai is at the vanguard of China’s reform, and that innovation has always been a prominent characteristic of the city.
She looks to the forum to provide more ideas for the innovation and development, and hopes Shanghai’s practice in innovation can be a benchmark for the healthy development of other cities. At present, Shanghai is accelerating its construction as a globally influential center of science & technological innovation, but some problems persist. Shanghai University will engage in in-depth exchanges with both domestic and foreign research institutes to jointly explore and advance the innovation process of Shanghai.
Professor Peter Tyler of the University of Cambridge noted that cities are the centers of social creativity, culture, learning and knowledge. To urban dwellers, economic development helps increase income and employment. Fundamentally, the rapid development of cities is owed to increased productivity and improved innovation, efficiency and skills. In a refreshing demonstration, Tyler applied Cambridge’s innovation system for bio-science to analyze the key factors for the innovation system of cities.
Paul Procee, Program Leader, World Bank Beijing Office, Professor Michael White from Brown University, Professor Robert Huggins from Cardiff University and many other guests provided valuable insights during a warm and lively forum atmosphere.
As one of the activities launched for the World Cities Day, the forum was sponsored by the Development Research Center of Shanghai Municipal People’s Government and the World Bank, and undertaken by Shanghai Academy and Shanghai University. Last year, the first World City Forum was successfully held in Shanghai receiving very enthusiastic response.
