Cities of the Future: Urban Sustainability in Modern China

The University of Chicago Center in Beijing
20th floor, Culture Plaza
No. 59A Zhong Guan Cun Street
Haidian District Beijing 100872

The seminar brought together leading thinkers and practitioners to explore best practices and effective methods for promoting sustainability in cities around the world.

Venue: China World Hotel, Beijing

Organizers: China Center for International Economic Exchanges, The Paulson Institute at the University of Chicago, China Association of Mayors, China City Development Academy, The Energy Foundation

The seminar brought together leading thinkers and practitioners to explore best practices and effective methods for promoting sustainability in cities around the world.

(Intended schedule of events follows.)

9:00 am                Welcome and Opening Remarks

Moderator:  Wang Chunzheng, Executive Vice Chairman, CCIEE

Opening Statement by Zeng Peiyan, Chairman, China Center for International Economic Exchanges

Opening Statement by Hank Paulson, Chairman, The Paulson Institute at the University of Chicago

9:30 am                Roundtable:  Three-Minute Predictions

The world’s next generation of cities will need to overcome extreme challenges posed by population growth, congestion, and energy insecurity.  Innovators, policy makers, practitioners, private equity companies, architects, urban planners and scientists will come together to seek solutions to these global challenges. This roundtable session will feature key US and Chinese participants who will make predictions on the future of urban sustainability from their unique perspectives.

Moderators:

Zheng Xinli, Vice Chairman, CCIEE

Deborah Lehr, Director, The Paulson Institute at the University of Chicago

Invited Chinese Speakers:

Huang Qifan, Mayor of Chongqing City

Tao Siliang, Full-time Vice Chairman, China Association of Mayors; Vice President, China Urban Development Reporting Council

Chen Huai, Director, Policy Research Center, Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development

Zhou Kai, Executive Director, Research Center of China’s Circular Economy; Expert of Energy Programs

Chen Shuo, President, Shanghai Zero Carbon Center

Mao Qizhi, Vice President, School of Architecture, Tsinghua University

Sun Jiping, Executive Vice-President, Urban Environmental Planning and Design Institute of Hong Kong

Zhang Yue, President, Broad Air Conditioning Co., Ltd.

Xu Wenwei, Executive Board Member, Huawei

Invited Speakers from Outside China:

Hank Paulson, Chairman, The Paulson Institute at the University of Chicago

Antonio Villaraigosa, Mayor of Los Angeles

David Cote, CEO, Honeywell

Jiang Lin, Senior Vice-President, Energy Foundation

Carolina Barco, Senior Advisor, Emerging Sustainable Cities, Inter-American Development Bank

Janette Sadik-Khan, Commissioner, New York City Department of Transportation

11:15 am             Urban Sustainability:  Living It Each Day

This panel will feature leading Chinese and US Mayors to discuss initiatives they have launched and best practices they have identified to transform their cities into models of sustainability.

Moderator:  Hal Harvey, CEO, ClimateWorks

Panelists:

Guo Jinlong, Mayor of Beijing

Antonio Villaraigosa, Mayor of Los Angeles

12:00 pm             MOU Signing Ceremony

12:30                      Luncheon

Introduction: Wei Jianguo, Secretary-General, CCIEE

Keynote Speaker: Vice Minister Qiu Baoxin, Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development

2:00 pm                          Planning Cities for People:  Principles of a Vibrant Community

What makes a city vibrant and livable?  What makes a great city?  Cities that offer mobility, walkable neighborhoods, high quality transit, and mixed-use zones promote a sense of community to residents.  Panelists will share best practices and case studies that explore real world examples of effective urban sustainability principles and illustrate the impact of design on creating vibrant communities.

Moderator: Yu Lian, President, China Urban Development Institute; CEO, China Urban Construction Holding Group

Panelists:

Huang Qifan, Mayor of Chongqing City

Zhou Kai, Executive Director, Research Center of China’s Circular Economy; Expert on Energy Programs

Mao Qizhi, Vice President, School of Architecture, Tsinghua University

Hal Harvey, CEO, ClimateWorks

3:00 pm                Keep the City Moving:  Solving Congestion

Rapidly developing cities throughout the world face a common challenge in managing traffic.  Car ownership is on the rise, and China is the world’s largest car market.  In cities with high population density, the problems of private car-oriented transportation are much more acute than in lower density cities.  Despite the incredible pace of road construction, particularly in China, gridlock traffic is the norm and results in economic inefficiencies as well as high levels of pollution.  How are different cities solving transportation challenges to keep people moving?  Panelists will share best practices on how to integrate biking, walking, and public transit into the urban fabric.

Moderator:

Michael Carroll, Senior Advisor, The Paulson Institute

Panelists:

Lu Mai, Secretary General, China Development Research Foundation

Li Bingdi, Director, Branch of Small and Meidum-sized Cities, China Society of Urban Studies

Janette Sadik-Khan, Commissioner, New York City Department of Transportation

Chen Shuo, President, Shanghai Zero Carbon Center

Lv Bing, Department of City and Regional Planning, City and Environment Institute, Peking University

Helle Soholt, Partner, Gehl Architects

4:15 pm                Balanced Growth

The challenge for today’s government leaders is how to ensure continued growth and basics needs for its people are met while protecting the environment.  Are these goals mutually exclusive?  Can leaders improve sustainability without impacting growth?  How can resources — water, coal, wind, — be managed?  What are some of the best practices from other parts of the world that might be applicable in China?

Moderator: Chen Huai, Director, Policy Research Center, Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development

Panelists:

Zhou Guohui, Mayor of Zhoushan City

Mo Gongming, Mayor of Fangchenggang City

Carolina Barco, Emerging Sustainable Cities, Inter-American Development Bank

Jonathan Woetzel, Director, McKinsey and Co.; Co-Chair, Urban China Initiative

5:15 pm                Investing in Technology

Technology plays a vital role in achieving sustainability.  There is a proliferation of technologies available on the market and in development.  What are the merits of the current and future technologies?  How do companies use capital markets for raising money?  What attracts private equity companies to technologies?  Why have clean tech investments been bad for US investors, but good for Chinese investors?

Moderator:

Yang Dali, Professor, Political Science, The University of Chicago; Faculty Director, University of Chicago Center in Beijing

Panelists:

Feng Jianming, Chairman, Zhejiang Mingshi Group, Innovative Developer of Urban Commercial/Cultural Complex

Zhang Yue, President Broad Air Conditioning Co., Ltd

Xu Wenwei, Executive Board Member, HUAWEI

David Cote, CEO, Honeywell

Hao Jiebing, General Manager, Beijing Vantone Investment Company

Yuan Chongfa, Vice-President, China Urban Construction Design & Research Institute

Tim Dattels, Partner, TPG Private Equity

6:15 pm                Concluding Remarks

Moderator: Wei Jianguo, Secretary-General, CCIEE

Closing remarks by Wang Chunzheng, Executive Vice Chairman, CCIEE

Closing remarks by Hank Paulson, Chairman, The Paulson Institute at the University of Chicago