Press Release
SUPS 6 Final Communique
His Highness
Sheikh Dr Sultan Bin Mohammed Al-Quassimi, Member of the Supreme
Council, Ruler of Sharjah, inaugurated the Sixth Sharjah Urban
Planning Symposium (June 1 & 2) and greeted more than 400
participants including 150 academics and practitioners who had
gathered at Sharjah University from the Gulf Region , Arab States,
Europe, the USA and Asia to join in discussion with academics
and practitioners from the Emirates. The theme of the 2003 Symposium
was 'Innovative Urban Development: Intelligent Cities, Smart Growth,
and Sustainable Futures'.
Participants
reflected on a variety of urban planning problems and approaches,
and offered insights for the solution of critical issues facing
urban areas. Papers covered the Arab world, including Sharjah,
and beyond. Major topics included planning concepts (community
building, sustainability, and learning from the Medina); emerging
approaches to urban planning (intelligent cities and smart growth,
digital communities, Geographical Information System, 4-D transportation
modelling, and energy efficiency); and the more established planning
issues (investment markets, real estate, and built environment).
Participants
emphasised the value of vision planning and strategic management,
as well as using new and emerging technologies with imagination.
They also emphasised the need for mobilising community-based resources
for more indigenous and sustainable development. The discussions
emphasised the need for the co-ordination, co-operation and partnership
between neighbouring emirates, as well as between public and private
sectors. While globalisation has made community-based initiatives
a significant aspect of emerging planning processes, it simultaneously
requires that nation states develop an outward looking strategy.
The participants wish to see these observations reflected in planning
curricula and practice in the UAE and beyond.
It was generally
agreed that this symposium is making a major impact on theories
and practices of urban planning in the Middle East and beyond,
and should continue to be held in future years so that more contributions
to the field of urban planning could be made. Of the 86 papers
delivered at the symposium, 30% were given by participants from
Sharjah and 44% from the UAE as a whole. The existence of the
Symposium as a forum for discussion has undoubtedly stimulated
an increase in scholarly papers from within the emirates and more
widely from the Gulf and Arab States.
A total of
24 papers were submitted for consideration for the 'best paper
prizes'. Of this GCC authors accounting for about 50%, many of
which compete well with papers by international participants in
terms of quality.
The prize for the best International paper (open to all participants)
sponsored by His Highness has been awarded to Dr Narushige Shiode
and Mr Paul Torrens for an innovative paper on modelling urban
growth and urban dynamics in real and virtual environments.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Research Foundation
prize for the best paper from the GCC countries has been awarded
to Dr Souhail El Masri for his excellent paper on intelligent
urban initiatives and prospects in Bahrain.
A new prize is offered by the Institute of Urban and Regional
Planning and Design at the American University of Sharjah this
year for papers on urban planning research and practice dealing
with subjects relevant to Sharjah, the UAE, the GCC countries
or the Arab World. It has been awarded to Dr Ahmed Abdalla Abdel-Ghany
and Dr Zohair Hasan Zahid for their paper on identifying urban
development priorities in Saudi Arabia.
Finally the
organisers are particularly pleased by the positive feedback from
participants as to the high quality of the presentations. International
participants are very impressed with the tremendous achievements
of the emirate of Sharjah and the warm hospitality offered to
them during their stay.
2 June 2003
Sharjah
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