NEW YORK------- October19, 2015---------- The World Habitat Day, designated by the United Nations to reflect on the state of towns and cities concluded at the United Nations headquarters in New York with the participation of HE Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, chairman of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization (TAGOrg) and the Digital Technologies for Sustainable Urbanization Network (iTSUN).
Abu-Ghazaleh's participation came as a response to the invitation by the Executive Director of UN Habitat and the president of the Consortium for Sustainable Urbanization in an event attended by a large number of high UN officials, government policy makers, urban planners and architects, business leaders and academic and civil society participants.
In his keynote speech, Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh stressed on his participation as a business leader and iTSUN co chair who is committed to the goal of global sustainability saying: "The world today is poised to make a historic new beginning. Just a few days ago, the United Nations Summit on Sustainable Development adopted a land mark Agenda 2030: Transforming Our World. At the heart of this global and universal Agenda are the 17 Sustainable Develop Goals to which all the leaders of the world have committed at the UN Summit. Goal 11 calls for making “cities and urban settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.”
Dr. Abu Ghazaleh called for a global partnership of world business leaders, government policy makers, urban planners and academic experts to promote a New Sustainable Urbanization Agenda for building smart and sustainable cities in all countries.
"In an increasingly urbanized world, where the majority of the people live in cities, it will not be possible to ensure a sustainable future for mankind without making cities and urban settlements more sustainable," he said.
"As we remake the cities of today and build the urban centers of tomorrow we need to re-examine our priorities, policies and planning in light of a New Urban Agenda which recognizes the centrality of accessible public spaces in urban settings," he added.
He stated: "The current paradigm of urbanization is based on wasteful use of land and other precious resources, such as energy and water, and is centered on automobile use, leading to suburban sprawl and un-planned expansion of cities. This type of urban development simply cannot be sustained for long. Apart from contributing to environmental degradation and climate change, it has exacerbated spatial inequality which often leads to social segregation, slum formation and unequal access to jobs, health and education services. Rather than fostering well-knit communities living together, it has led to greater socio-economic divisions, growing inequality, political instability and strife."
He stressed that in this information age, digital technologies must be seen as an essential component of a modern urban infrastructure and a strategic tool for good urban planning and design.
"If we use digital technologies to build smart cities with
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