Jones Lang LaSalle


World Cities Are Our Future, Panelists Predict
February 08, 2006
By Amanda Marsh, Staff Writer

Joseph Brown
The future of the world is in cities, according to panelists at last night's "World City Insights" forum presented by Urban Land Institute New York. "Eighty percent of the population will live in cities," ULI president Richard Rosan said, noting that it will not just be mega cities of 1 to 5 million people, but also smaller ones of 500,000 to 1 million. The main focus of the forum was on the current and future world urbanization that will allow this to happen.

The panelists discussed the infrastructure, financing and sustainability of cities such as South Korea's New Songdo City, a $20-billion, 1,500-acre master plan city currently under development. Such cities will have connections to transportation, airports, bridges and highways, effectively connecting them to the world around them. They'll also have united business, educational, residential and cultural districts. "(World cities) eclipse boundaries…and shake the world physically and socially," EDAW president & CEO Joseph Brown (pictured) said.
Other important factors that contribute to cities' ultimate success include civil leadership, a vibrant public realm, adequate housing, economic mobility and restored urban ecosystems. "Without these qualities," Brown noted, "it's not a world city."

Besides Brown, forum panelists included moderator Ian Hawksworth of the Hongkong Land Co. Ltd., The Gale Company managing partner John Hynes, Lehman Brothers managing director Raymond Mikulich and Tishman Speyer Properties senior managing director Steven Wechsler.