Commission on Urban Planning met in Riga

The main theme of the seminar organised in Riga on 27-29 April was: "Sustainability in an urban planning context". Dr Susannah Hagan from the University of East London, in her lecture focused on city development and ecological, economic and social sustainability, related to regional conditions. What does it mean? How could we work towards sustainable cities, and why should we?

Later during the workshops participants were studying a local planning project and discussing the questions: Can such a project be regarded as an example that will contribute to a sustainable future for the Riga City and the surrounding region? Which aspects are to be considered and what tools can be used in an urban planning situation, when doing such an analysis? Can there be improvements to be made in the project to enhance a sustainable development in Riga? How to match a UNESCO listed cultural heritage with a nearby modern high-rise architecture? Mr Chris Watts, Director of Beyond Green, gave a lecture on looking closer to what (social, economic, ecological) sustainability means, or could mean, when working with urban planning. He presented examples and experiences from actual city development projects. This seminar followed the ABC-project. It dealt with the important question of the future cooperation within the UBC Commission on Urban Planning. The network of planners from 27 cities in 8 BSR countries established through the ABC-project has a big value, well worth to maintain. It also holds a potential for further development. Unfortunately the application to INTERREG IIIB for financial support to develop this cooperation into the planned project Baltic Academy of City Planners (BaltAcad) was not approved. It is therefore necessary to discuss which activities the Commission should be taken by instead for the coming years.

The Commission must also find possible ways to finance them. This seminar has laid the foundation for such further future cooperation.