Alfred Herrhausen Gesellschaft - Das internationale Forum der Deutschen Bank - Urban Age

By the end of the 21st century, two-thirds of the world's population will be living in cities or urban centres, and 2020 1.4 billion people will be living in slums. Cities are the engines of the world’s economic, cultural and scientific development. It is here that all the problems facing our world today confront each other in the most confined of spaces. Therefore, the issue is not whether cities will continue to grow but how, where and what kind of cities do we wish to live in the future.

For this reason, the Alfred Herrhausen Society, together with the London School of Economics (LSE), set up its Urban Age project.

Urban Age analyses the problems facing mega-cities, brings mayors, architects, city planners, scientists and NGOs together and enables them to learn from one another. An international network of competence has been growing since 2005 - a mobile think-tank - with the goal of finding better solutions for our cities.

Up to now, conferences have taken place in New York, Shanghai, London, Mexico City, Johannesburg, Berlin, Mumbai and São Paulo. Topics such as traffic, security, governability, sustainability and the use of public spaces have defined the discussions depending on their relevance for each city. Here, the AHS brings to bear its experiences regarding the issue of governability and the economic competence of a global company, Deutsche Bank.

The next Urban Age Conference will take place in Istanbul in 2009.

Initial analyses and outcomes of the conference series have been compiled in the book entitled “The Endless City”.

As part of the Urban Age Conferences, the Deutsche Bank Urban Age Award distinguishes exemplary partnerships dedicated to improving the standard of living in their cities.

More Information
www.urban-age.net
www.lse.ac.uk