How do we deal with the impact of climate change and population growth in urban areas?
Urban areas around the world face major challenges with the pressure that keeps increasing as more and more people move to cities. The conversations, shared knowledge and new projects resulting from the Future Green City World Congress are thus necessary to find a new balance between sustainability, nature, and livability in urban areas: the Future Green City.
The Congress connects the worlds of construction, green spaces, infrastructure, and water. How can cities become more circular and climate-neutral? What civil engineering solutions are needed to make a concrete environment greener? And how can cities remain accessible?
“For four days, we bring thinkers and doers together.”
Maarten Loeffen, director of Stadswerk, says: “It is important to deepen and broaden our knowledge together. At the Future Green City World Congress, civil and cultural technology are combined to build a sustainable public space for the future. For four days, we bring thinkers and doers together.”
Marc van Rosmalen, director of Koninklijke VHG: “In September, people from all over the world will come to Utrecht to work together on the future of green, healthy, livable, and climate-resilient cities. Be inspired by the challenges and solutions in the areas of climate, water, energy transition, and more.”
The Future Green City World Congress is an initiative of the Koninklijke Vereniging Stadswerk Nederland and the Koninklijke Vereniging van Hoveniers en Groenvoorzieners (VHG). They are bringing the worlds of green spaces and civil engineering together in Utrecht, in collaboration with World Urban Parks (WUP), the International Federation of Municipal Engineering (IFME), and AIPH, as well as the Municipality of Utrecht, the host city for the congress. This coalition underscores the importance of the Future Green City.
170 sessions from 32 countries
The most inspiring examples of green transformations in cities from around the world will be showcased. Over 170 sessions have been selected from more than 250 submitted proposals, including lectures, masterclasses, serious games, debates, and science labs. This has resulted in a programme featuring representatives from 32 different countries worldwide, from Argentina to Canada and from Cameroon to Taiwan.
The programme will include leading keynote speakers, like Kongjian Yu, who will highlight his groundbreaking work on sponge cities, Adriaan Geuze, who will talk about narrative iconic public spaces, and Carine Saloff-Coste, who will show the impressive transformation of Paris into a hotspot with high biodiversity.
Participants can visit fascinating projects in the Netherlands – like the Aqua Thermal Energy on the IJssel, the Seven Cities Project in Rotterdam, the challenges of the ‘sinking city’ Gouda and the twelve-lane motorway which was transformed into a green waterway in the middle of the city.
Participants will be able to join four-hour session workshops where they’ll work with experts on concrete issues and solutions on ‘The zero-emission city: the citizen dialogue’, ‘Technical challenges: Park Making on a higher level’, and ‘Daylight your rivers and streams’.
Participants will have a refreshing conference experience – the diverse lively and diverse programme makes the conference much like a festival. Thanks to the many different working formats, including games, theatre, cinema, debates, and fringe programming throughout the city.
Van Rosmalen: “A festival-style conference you can’t miss.“
