BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 20. Urban development
must ground itself in the principle of coexistence with nature,
said Arnulf Rybicki, a representative of the City of Dortmund's
Directorate for Construction and Infrastructure, Trend reports.
The official made the remarks during a session titled "Building
Nature-Positive Cities Housing, Resilience, and Sustainable Urban
Futures" held within the framework of the World Urban Forum (WUF13)
in Baku.
According to him, a significant portion of Dortmund's urban
territory—exceeding 60%—is occupied by green zones, including
fields, forests, trees, and parks. He noted that within the
framework of a satellite data analysis covering more than 155 urban
regions worldwide, Dortmund earned recognition as the fourth
greenest city among those studied.
Rybicki emphasized that Dortmund plans to further expand its
green infrastructure, integrating it into all urban development
projects. As an example, he cited the Phoenix See project in
southern Dortmund, which involved the transformation of a former
steel mill industrial site into a lake surrounded by green areas
and residential housing.
He also pointed out that the city's priority focuses not on
extending development into natural territories, but rather on
renovating and repurposing brownfield industrial zones into new
urban spaces.
Today marks the fourth day of WUF13 in Baku.
The first day included a ministerial meeting dedicated to the
New Urban Agenda, a ministerial roundtable, assemblies for women
and civil society, business sessions, and discussions on urban
prosperity. An official ceremony marking the raising of the UN and
Azerbaijani flags also took place.
The second day stood out for the inaugural Leaders' Summit,
featuring high-level discussions on the global housing crisis,
urbanization policy, and urban resilience. Concurrently, the
opening of the Mexico City pavilion took place, serving as a
significant platform for expanding cooperation with the Latin
American region and preparing for WUF14.
The third day of WUF13 featured a comprehensive program of
events covering the global housing crisis, the formation of safe
and inclusive cities, climate resilience, artificial intelligence
and urban governance, green urbanization, social equity, and
sustainable transport.
WUF13, which has attracted more than 40,000 registered
participants from 182 countries, will continue until May 22. Held
under the theme “Housing the world: Safe and resilient cities and
communities,” the forum brings together governments, international
organizations, experts, and representatives of civil society to
strengthen global cooperation in the field of sustainable urban
development.
