This September The Future Cities Forum will be back debating the role of private and public financing of our city planning and development projects. Retail expansion, the building and re-location of museums alongside hotel developments all help to keep our cities growing vibrantly while improving social and economic health.
The autumn forum follows our highly successful inaugural debate where the art historian Andrew Graham Dixon, Professor Peter Rees from The Bartlett and ARUP’s Alexander Jan joined contributors from Land Securities, Grosvenor and Cambridge City Council – and from Denmark, Holland and the UK. The beauty of Italy’s renaissance squares and townscapes was compared with today’s ideas of city planning and looked to the future of design in the next century. In particular discussion focussed on the changing face of London as a world city. Professor Rees commented ‘London has survived fires, plague, bombing and financial catastophies, but everytime it has bounced back more strongly’,while the architectural practice – HOK’s London Principal, Daniel Haajar said:’Everyone looks at London as a magnet for talent and more importantly as a thought-provoking urban environment that really does export that particular niche worldwide’.
Watch the video of speakers from the past forum below:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVubEWp6iK4

Kijkend naar de skyline van Rotterdam in zonsondergang vanuit de Kralingse plas.