Post Date: 11 August 2017

Merging Science, Policy, & Business – Building a Network of Sustainable Cities

With the strong global trend toward urbanization continuing, the chief focus of the investigation of avenues to long-term sustainability will be on cities, and the transportation, trade, and resource transmission networks connecting them. Robert Gottlieb and Simon Ng have studied intensively the urban complexes of Los Angeles, Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta, their interconnections through the global trade in goods and resources, and their environmental and societal challenges. In a new book, “Global Cities”, they engagingly describe the history of these urban complexes and their tightly-bound interactions, and explore how those experiences can inform the path forward.

In this presentation and discussion, Prof. Gottlieb and Mr. Ng will describe their research, with Prof. Gottlieb focusing on his studies of the Los Angeles urban complex and Mr. Ng on Hong Kong and the neighboring Pearl River Delta cities. Together they will show how closely connected, in the era of global trade, are these two urban areas on opposite sides of the Pacific, and how the impact of the global trade in goods and resources has affected their social structures and environments. Their presentation will discuss the ways in which science and business can contribute to the determination of how cities and their interconnecting networks will structure themselves for long-term sustainability.

About “Global Cities”: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/global-cities
Book review and related articles: https://globalcitiesbook.com/blog/

Event rundown:
09:00 am – Reception with light refreshment
09:15 am – Opening remarks
09:25 am – Presentation by Prof. Robert Gottlieb and Mr. Simon Ng
10:05 am – Panel discussion and Q&A session
                   [Panellists: Ms. Maya de Souza, Prof. Robert Gottlieb, and Mr. Simon Ng]
                   [Moderator: Dr. Michael Edesess]
10:40 am – Closing remarks
10:45 am – Meeting ends (networking with coffee/tea)
 
Speakers, panellist, and moderator:
Robert Gottlieb is Emeritus Professor of Urban and Environmental Policy, and founder and former Director of the Urban & Environmental Policy Institute at Occidental College, Los Angeles. Simon Ng is an environmental and transport consultant, and Fellow and former Chief Research Officer at Civic Exchange, a public policy think tank in Hong Kong. Robert and Simon co-authored Global Cities: Urban Environments in Los Angeles, Hong Kong, and China, published by the MIT Press in May 2017.
 
Ms. Maya de Souza is Senior Manager, Policy Research at BEC. She has worked both in the Hong Kong and UK context for over 10 years on different aspects of sustainable cities, from climate resilience to reduction of carbon emissions from homes and commercial buildings and sustainable transport systems. Her current role involves working with the business community to support a transition to a sustainable low carbon Hong Kong.
 
Dr. Michael Edesess is an adjunct associate professor and visiting faculty in the Division of Environment and Sustainability, and the Finance Department at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He is also chief investment strategist of US-based Compendium Finance and a research associate of the EDHEC-Risk Institute.
 

Please click to download post-event materials:
Presentation slides by Prof. Robert Gottlieb and Mr. Simon Ng (DOWNLOAD)
Event video records and post-event RTHK interview (DOWNLOAD)
Event summary report (DOWNLOAD)