September-October , 2021 | @ green

11

Datuk Seri Paduka Maimunah Head Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme ( UN – Habitat ) ( Bottom right ) with Chairman of City Expo Malaysia 2021 , TPr . Hj . Ihsan Zainal Mokhta ( Top left ), Datin TPr . Noraida Saludin , President of the Malaysian Institute of Planners ( MIP ) ( Bottom left ) and Imran Clyde , Director of City Expo Malaysia 2012 ( Top right ) at the CEM soft launch .

City Expo Malaysia 2021 to drive deep conversations on what makes for great places

City Expo Malaysia 2021 ( CEM 2021 ), on Nov 8-Dec 8 , 2021 , aims to be the platform that gathers these like-minded stakeholders and city makers to come up with their solutions for these city issues . Organised by the Malaysian Institute of Planners ( MIP ) and Nextdor Property Communications , the virtual expo drives the debate , ideas , and solutions around cities .

The soft launch of CEM 2021 was officiated by Datuk Seri Maimunah Mohd Sharif , Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme ( UN-Habitat ) on Aug , 25 .

“ Today , Malaysia is one of the most urbanised countries in Asia , experiencing significant cumulative growth in the last two decades , transforming the country from 34 per cent urban in 1980 with estimates of growing to 80 per cent by 2030 ,” said Maimunah .

“ Recognised challenges associated with this rapid urbanisation include the urban-rural divide , increased urban sprawl , increased urban poor and lack of affordable and adequate housing , as well as green and open spaces , poor urban mobility and connectivity , traffic congestion and other social ills .”

However , she believed that by analysing and assessing all possible imaginative but realistic scenarios , well-planned and well-managed cities could be the source of solutions rather than challenges .

Following the soft launch , Maimunah delivered a talk titled ‘ World In Pandemic

Crisis : UN-Habitat ’ s Strategies in Handling It ’ as part of the CEM 2021 Star Talk session , moderated by MIP President , Datin Noraida Saludin .

In her talk , Maimunah stated that the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic had reversed the UN ’ s sustainable development goals ( SDGs ), especially SDG 3 , as the virus shortens the life expectancy . She highlighted that the pandemic changed the world ’ s progress in healthcare , poverty and education .

“ Covid-19 is a wake-up call . It also magnifies and shows proof of the deeply rooted problems and the failure of the system , especially the insufficient social protection , weak public health , inadequate health coverage , structural inequalities , not only in cities but also in rural areas .

“ To recover , we need people to be at the centre of the response ,” added Maimunah .

Lessons from the pandemic

“ For the past two years , the Covid-19 pandemic did not discriminate between developed and developing countries . No single country was prepared , emphasising foresight and preparedness .

“ By mid-2020 , UN-Habitat has come up with a study . It was stated that 90 per cent of ( Covid-19 ) cases were in cities . We had the data from 1500 cities in urban areas . So , what we observed and learned is the importance of proximity and the network of connectivity .”

She then explained that this connectivity refers to a broader segment such as enhancing the economies of scale , transforming public places , looking at the critical investment in essential services like water sanitation , health services , and planning . She mentioned that although many argue that high density ( in cities ) is not good , the UN Habitat ’ s study noted that high density with proper planning shows the opposite result .

“ It is not the densely populated that is the problem . The overcrowding is the problem ,” said Maimunah .

She said the pandemic had shown that most city problems were caused by densely populated , congested , unplanned areas .

Highlighting the rapid growth of the global population , she said : “ By 2050 , around 66 per cent of the worldwide people will be in cities , and 75 per cent of the infrastructure will not be built yet .

“ So now , we need to look into the innovation , creativity , guidelines , planning , economics or social , what type of infrastructure that is 75 per cent not built yet by 2050 that we want to do .

“ We talk about green infrastructure , zero-carbon etc . But , we have to show proof , to implement ( those things ). We have enough talking . We want to see the impact on the ground .”

Maimunah mentioned that the pandemic had shown people the weaknesses and strengths of certain cities , organisations and countries . In mitigating related city issues , she said it was important to list these weaknesses and strengths and identify the weak spots of the cities and organisations .

“ I believe we have to go back to the data . Without the information and data , we cannot do a comprehensive , resilient and sustainable plan ,” she added . — @ green