Megacities… urban phenomenon of 21th century, settlements and homes for huge amount of global population, the places of inspiration and opportunities, of technological development and industrial growth, locations of poverty and urban culture, centers of knowledge and leadership, spots of attracting financial and human resources, engines for economic growth and prosperity … and at the same time creators of huge and complex social, environmental and infrastructural challenges that requires innovative, efficient and rational solutions, and new approaches to governance!

Being interested in those issues, it was my pleasure to attend the World Business Dialogue in Cologne, and together with great people from all around the world - scientists, management leaders, entrepreneurs and international students - to discuss about the population dynamics, the opportunities and challenges of ageing societies and megacities in our today’s world. We were united to share experiences and ideas, with common efforts to find solutions for the future, that will ensure sustainability of our economies, society and environment.

I believe those topics are under the pressure of Your interest and attention as well , therefore responding on the invitation of PerfectCity.net team, it is my pleasure to share with you some of the key issues i found interesting and sensitive when talking about megacities and their urban challenges!

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Make yourself at home in these cities! Every year, Mercer Human Resource Consulting publishes a ranking of our cities concerned with quality of living. This year, Mercer researched 215 cities. Interestingly, some “famous” major cities did not make it to the top: Paris was ranked 33, London 39 and New York only 47. Overall, there are only marginal changes of this year’s list compared to 2006. Here are the best top ten cities in the world with (Country) and [rank 2007 / rank 2006]: [read more…]

Good Friday weather is lovely, so I come to wander around the Frankfurt “Palmengarten” for a while and forget the slight hangover from yesterday night. My plan was to lay on the grass, enjoy the perfumed fragrance
of blossoming flowers, and figure out my parents’ visit to Frankfurt. However, the quietness of the park and the relaxing sound of rushing water coming from the garden’s fountain made me fall asleep and almost screw up the whole plan.

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We are happy to announce that PerfectCity now shows pictures of authors and commentators. After all, it is much easier to discuss with somebody you can “really” see. Let us all share the sense of the PerfectCity.net community and bring on the personal discussion about the future of our cities!

Please get registered on this blog first (if you haven’t so far) and upload a picture of you in your account administration menu after logging in. Registered bloggers simply upload a picture in “my profile” and click on “update profile”. You should also make sure that you are logged-in when you give comments, because otherwise your picture won’ t be shown next to your comment.

And here is a more detailed description of how to upload your picture:

• Get registered on this blog
• Log on to your account and click on “my profile” on the top right - you will be directed to your profile site.
• Go to “Add Photo” on the bottom left and upload your picture. Please note, that it needs to be in .jpg format.
• Click on “Update Profile” - finished.

We are looking forward to really see you on PerfectCity.net!

On 28^th/ 29^th march, I had the chance to take part at the world’s biggest meeting between students and representatives of the economy – the World Business Dialogue, in Cologne.

My task was it, to present our project ‘PerfectCity’ and to find new bloggers who would participate on our discussion. It’s an important but often unknown fact, that PerfectCity is no product or commercial event to sell goods or to find ‘customers’. I had to explain this to many students which were interested, but sceptical at the beginning of a conversation. I can understand that; all of the sponsoring companies, especially the main sponsors did their best in advertising their products or finding job-starters.

The first questions of nearly all visitors, after spotting our laptops and PerfectCity advertising, were: “Hey, what is PerfectCity?”, “What can I do there?”

It’s a fact, that we are at the beginning of a new urban millennium. The half of the world’s population will live in cities in the future. In this case new technology for environment- friendly energy resources, efficient public transfer systems and intelligent city planning will be the task for every one.

And we need new solutions for new challenges in growing mega- cities already now. [read more…]

Please remember to participate in this PerfectCity poll, which particularly addresses all real estate professionals and allows you to watch and monitor trends across the international commercial real estate industry.

The poll will be open until the end of April and also to be seen as an invitation to share your professional opinions, thoughts and reasons of choice! In your opinion, which city on the list offers the most profitable opportunity for commercial real estate investors in 2007/2008? What do you think about the intermediate results?

Shanghai and China provide the backdrop for the 2007 World Cities Forum: On 17-19 April, the Urban Land Institute (ULI) will convene 150 senior leaders of the property development and finance industry to explore the risks of, and rewards for, doing business in China.

PerfectCity.net is looking for a LOCAL PerfectCity Ambassador, who will represent PerfectCity.net in Shanghai, where this exclusive gathering of top executives from global real estate companies takes place!

If you are interested in this job, please send an email to perfectcity@td-berlin.com and you will receive more information about the job modalities and monetary aspects! For more information on the World Cities Forum 2007 in Shanghai, please click here!

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Priyanka, what is your favourite city?

Bangalore, India. MG Road/ Brigade Road is my favourite spot in this city. The diversity the place boasts in terms of entertainment, sprirituality, books and liveliness is what attracts me towards it.

What is your vision of a perfect city 2050?

A place to MEET people,a place to MIX with people,a place to RELAX and a place which represents diversity with Unity at its best [read more…]

Inner-city open spaces play an important role in urban life, helping to integrate communities and providing a context for social cohesion. They are prime factors in determining the attractiveness of cities and urban neighbourhoods, significantly contributing to the quality of life of the people living and working in them.

Eurohypo’s International Urban Landscape Award picks up these thoughts and is a competition in recognition of public and private commitment to the improvement of the urban environment and continuing development of the city. Exemplary urban design projects are sought which also provide an inspiration to the development process in other cities.

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