57th World Planning Congress Concludes in Doha

57th World Planning Congress

The 57th World Planning Congress of the International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP) concluded Thursday in Doha. The event was organized by the Urban Planning Department of the Ministry of Municipality from Nov. 8-11 under the theme "Planning Unlocked: New Times, Better Places, Stronger Communities."

Brussels will host the 58th ISOCARP World Planning Congress under the theme "From Rich Cities to Healthy Cities" from Oct. 3-7, 2022.

The final day of the conference witnessed several sessions concerned with building unique cities, infrastructure, and the transportation network to ensure broad networking, a future vision of sustainable urban mobility for Doha, urban planning after the COVID-19 crisis, and the role of innovation and education.

Several Urban Planning Department experts participated in the sessions, which dealt with proper methods of urban planning, through visual presentations. It also provided an explanation of the guidelines for urban design and the principles of sustainability in the State of Qatar, within the framework of creating buildings that have a positive impact on the general health of people. It addressed some scientific researches by Qatar University students on submitting design proposals for city planning.

The sessions were characterized by local participation from the State of Qatar, in which the participants presented their experiences in this field to those interested from abroad. It witnessed the presentation of the most important components of city planning in Doha, such as parks, road networks, and transportation in preparation for the 2022 World Cup. It touched on the comprehensive urban plan works and its success and obstacles. It presented a future vision of the urban plan project, its implementation mechanism, the elements of its success, the importance of leadership from the beginning of the planned project to its end, and giving opportunities and support to all sectors to express their proposals and participate in the plan.

In his speech at the closing session, Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee Eng. Mubarak Al Nuaimi stressed that the conference is an opportunity to learn about new trends in urbanization, planning, and exchanging experiences and knowledge. It included a distinguished group of practical workshops and technical visits to the various regions of Qatar, which reflects the state vision in adopting an urban approach based on the knowledge-based economy, concepts of healthy and smart cities, and the upholding of human value.

Al Nuaimi touched on the success of the State of Qatar in hosting the conference despite the COVID-19 repercussions, which showcases the country's capabilities and national cadres with high capabilities in managing such an event and making distinguished global contributions.

Dr. Ali Abdel Raouf, the consultant at the Urban Planning Department of the Ministry of Municipality, pointed out that the participating delegations from 30 countries praised the organizational level and the exceptional hospitality, and the selection of Msheireb as the venue to host the conference. He hailed the reformulating of the conference through diverse workshops, theoretical and research sessions, field visits for urban landmarks, and technical workshops. He added that the Doha conference represents a unique and different shift in the history of ISOCARP conferences, which provided the opportunity for participants to interact with real and applied experiences on the ground, present ideas, exchange opinions, and conduct comparative studies between countries of the world.

He added that the 2021 conference was distinguished by the presence of the delegations of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) concerned with the planning and urban administrations. He praised the Gulf sessions, which highlighted that all Gulf cities are moving from oil urbanization to human urbanization and seek to create a suitable quality of life that can be described as smart and healthy cities.

In the closing session, Abdul Rahman Hamad Al Mana, an urban researcher at the Urban Planning Department of the Ministry of Municipality, underlined the importance of the five axes of the conference outcomes. He called for the necessity of the participation of all government sectors, whether planning or non-planning agencies, in the local planning and decision-making process. He also called for creating open and entertaining spaces for the community to provide healthy cities through good planning and modern technology and geographic information systems.

He also touched on the importance of updating the curricula and strategic planning frameworks to be flexible in dealing with climatic changes, in addition to developing the infrastructure for public transport, walking paths, and road and metro networks.

SOURCE: QNA