Goethe-Institut - Blog Cityscapes - APUF Live Blog

APUF Live: (Roundup) Flying home...

nospam@example.com (Jochen Gutsch) — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 09:05:00 +0200

On the plane home, I get a good view of the place we talked about.

Continue reading "APUF Live: (Roundup) Flying home..."

APUF Live: (Note) Thank You

nospam@example.com (Jochen Gutsch) — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 08:24:00 +0200

The CityScapes team would like to thank Daphna, Natalja, Philip and everyone at UN ESCAP for the opportunity to play a little part in this conference.

We had a great time at APUF-5, and while we have no illusions about covering all of the content, we hope we could at least capture the atmosphere and provide a little glimpse behind the scenes.

Daphna at the Rockefeller/FCCT documentary screening.

Dagmar in front of the UN building.

We hope to see you all again some time, somewhere.
Dagmar, Norbert, Liam, Skye, Elizabeth, Prawitt, and Jochen.

___________________________
Jochen Gutsch | Goethe-Institut Australia | Twitter | LinkedIn |

APUF Live: (Photos) The Last Day

nospam@example.com (Jochen Gutsch) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 19:56:00 +0200

Liam and Skye capturing more views before the event is over.

Continue reading "APUF Live: (Photos) The Last Day"

APUF Live: (Report) Voices from the Floor

nospam@example.com (Jochen Gutsch) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 14:17:00 +0200

At the closing session, we had one more chance to present CityScapes to everyone. I showed some examples for reports, interviews, videos, photo series, and such. Following this, there were several more people speaking up.

Lanaja Manandhar, Executive Director Lumanti: “Communities can contribute; they can help solving bigger issues.”

Continue reading "APUF Live: (Report) Voices from the Floor"

APUF Live: (Opinion) Bicycles, Water and Elections.

nospam@example.com (Liam Morgan) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 11:43:00 +0200

As yesterday turned into a bit of a behind-the-scenes day for Jochen and I, we thought it would be good to spend a bit more time in the sessions and thinking about the issues being discussed here. So, I spent a bit of time listening to a session on 'green and inclusive infrastructure'. There were a few things brought up that quite interest me.

Firstly, The moderator mentioned a case of cities in India, in some of which up to 60% of the population rely on bicycles and busses to get around their city. The concern is that as these people become more wealthy, it is assumed that they will buy cars (India produces the cheapest cars in the world). This would be a very big problem in already-congested cities. The moderator, who was a native of Amsterdam, then brought up his home city as an example showing that affluence and owning cars need not go hand-in-hand. Of course, the world knows Amsterdam as a city of bicycles, and it is a very big part of the culture there. But, on top of a natural inclination to cycling, the city encourages bicycle use by discouraging car use. This is achieved through such methods as making parking in the city center very expensive and blocking car access to some areas, thus making it more convenient to get around by tram or bicycle.

Bicycle parking lot in Amsterdam.

Continue reading "APUF Live: (Opinion) Bicycles, Water and Elections."

APUF Live: (Video) Interview 03

nospam@example.com (Skye Tan ) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 11:41:13 +0200

APUF Live: (Video) Interview 02

nospam@example.com (Skye Tan ) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 11:22:59 +0200

APUF Live: (Video) Interview 01

nospam@example.com (Skye Tan ) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 10:48:28 +0200

APUF Live: (Video) Social Networking and Technology in Bangkok

nospam@example.com (Skye Tan ) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 09:45:43 +0200

APUF Live: (Interview) World Cleanup...

nospam@example.com (Jochen Gutsch) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 09:08:17 +0200

It's probably in the nature of a UN conference that you have a range of UN agencies presenting their information stalls. Presumably, these agencies support their respective causes at conferences on a regular basis. Their presence at APUF-5 is of course necessary and important. However, at CityScapes, we’re traditionally more interested in the view of young-and-fresh, small-but-growing, and therefore (arguably) more passionate projects.

One of the most interesting and ambitious projects is certainly the Estonia-based organisation World Cleanup 2012.

Communications & PR person Tiina Urm
speaks about World Cleanup 2012.

Continue reading "APUF Live: (Interview) World Cleanup..."

APUF Live: (Report) Sub-regional focus groups...

nospam@example.com (Jochen Gutsch) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 05:38:34 +0200

At this morning's "Outcomes of the Sub-regional Focus Groups and Discussions on Regional Support Mechanisms and Actions" session, the issues included:

Raising awareness, finding effective solutions, including all stakeholders including the private sector, paradigm shifts based on data available, land issues and slum dwellers, new approaches to development, the role of local and central governments, challenges through rapid urbanisation, and capacity building for sustainable development...

Where are we headed?

Continue reading "APUF Live: (Report) Sub-regional focus groups..."

APUF Live: (Survey) Inclusion

nospam@example.com (Jochen Gutsch) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 01:10:01 +0200

Before the beginning of the third conference day, my ears are ringing with buzzwords and catchphrases. I suggest we do some cleaning up. There's at least one word I'd really like to pin down:

INCLUSION.

While the term has recently been used quite readily and frequently in political debates, educational institutions, non-governmental organisations, talk shows, sports clubs, pubs, and on the street, I would like to know how exactly INCLUSION could help when it comes to urban issues.

To be precise, I'm looking for answers to the following three questions:

WHO should be in included?
WHAT should these people be included in?
WHY should these people included?

Continue reading "APUF Live: (Survey) Inclusion"

APUF Live: (Video) Slogans Part 2 (report on what is happening outside of the UNCC building)

nospam@example.com (Skye Tan ) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 19:25:16 +0200

APUF Live: (Link) Chinese Earth Scooter

nospam@example.com (Liam Morgan) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 17:49:34 +0200

There was a documentary evening organized by the APUF people tonight. They showed a bunch of short films. This is one of them that I really like:

Jiang's Earth Bike

APUF Live: (Photos) The report is launched...

nospam@example.com (Jochen Gutsch) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 10:19:42 +0200

The "State of Asian Cities 2010/11 Report" is being launched in the hall. It looks like this:

Continue reading "APUF Live: (Photos) The report is launched..."