National Business Daily: 2021 World Cities Culture Forum Conference kicks off in Chengdu, exploring real-world solutions to sustainability

Present at the conference were John Howkins, a member of the United Nations Advisory Committee on the Creative Economy, Paul Owens, director of the World Cities Culture Forum, and Justine Simons, chair of the World Cities Culture Forum and deputy mayor of London.

Having deep ties with Chengdu, Mr. Howkins said to National Business Daily that the southwestern city is ideal for the growth of creative economy. To facilitate the development of creative economy and sustainable development, cities shall shift away from a simple model of linear growth, more people, more buildings, to co-evolution of people and environment and a model that values imagination and creativity of individuals.

Another important part of the conference was the City Case Report on Culture and Sustainable Development released online by Paul Owens. According to the report, the cultural and creative industries can not only work to reduce environmental footprint, but can also provide inspiration for behaviour change which is urgently needed.

Practices of a few established and emerging world cities in integrating cultural and environmental agendas were highlighted in the report. Chengdu's strong push for "city within a park" is one of them. Notably, a vital element of the city's park city concept is the setting it provides for cultural activities.

Key to the city's green vision, the Tianfu Greenway with a planned length of 16,900 kilometers connects many of Chengdu's major cultural and historic attractions such as Kuanzhai Alley and DuFu Thatched Cottage as well as ecological areas and wetlands, green spaces and community gardens. Through such practice, the city aims to explore a new development model and generate a driving force for sustainable development.

Following the conference, a series of events will be carried out to deliver more opportunities for international cooperation.

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