Today, close to half of the world’s population resides in urban areas, a proportion projected to surge to approximately 70 percent by 2050, comprising an additional 2.5 billion new urban dwellers. Buildings, therefore, represent a pressing, yet promising action area for green advancements, given they account for nearly 40 percent of global energy consumption.

In addition to this, approximately 85-95 percent of the European building stock that will exist in 2050 has already been built.

This calls for ambitious plans for energy efficiency, innovative urban development, and a focus on livability, to which identifying and sharing inspirational solutions has become increasingly important.

Virtual launch of white paper on “Urban green transition”

Therefore, State of Green held a virtual session on 11 October to address and demonstrate why holistic and strategic city planning and development within mobility and infrastructure, climate adaptation, as well as environmentally conscious architecture and construction, must take centre stage for our future cities.

The speakers of the session included Birgitte Krohn, Senior Manager of Strategic Planning and Coordination at C40 Cities, Søren Hansen, CEO of Urban Advisory, Burcu Tiryaki, Landscape Architect and Ecosystem Chief at the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, and Karin Thuesen Pedersen, Urban Development Director at COWI.

Setting the stage for dialogue, Birgitte Krohn highlighted the important role of cities, mayors and other city decision-makers in the global green transition. The message was clear: we need to rethink how we plan and develop our cities, putting people and nature up front and centre.

As a comparative perspective, Søren Hansen presented the Danish approach to city planning and developing urban places through strategic, holistic, and long-term planning, with a transition from a system-centric over human-centric to a life-centric approach.

Following the two presented perspectives, Burcu Tiryaki laid the foundation for the round table discussion with a deep dive into Istanbul’s climate change action plan, including a presentation of the 21 “Green Valley” projects and the Ayamama Green Valley project.

Concluding the session, the speakers discussed the presented cases from a holistic perspective, including a focus on environmental, economic, and social aspects.

If you would like to watch the event or experience it again, please enjoy the complete video of the session below.