Quels lieux de vie pour demain ?

Nous avons abordé de nombreux thèmes lors de notre étude auprès de la jeunesse du monde et du panel de 100 personnalités. Voici quelques exemples de questions qui ont été abordées :

Plus de 50% de la population mondiale est dorénavant urbaine. Les villes sont motrices pour le développement mais ce dynamisme pose pourtant des entraves à l'environnement, avec la présence humaine et l'activité économique.

Comment réconcilier la réalité urbaine du monde contemporain et l’impératif de développement durable ?

Quel urbanisme, quelle architecture, quels lieux de vie permettront d’assurer une harmonisation et une qualité de vie dans des zones urbaines de plus en plus peuplées ? Au-delà de l’opposition classique entre monde urbain et monde rural, quel avenir pour les espaces hybrides ? Le modèle d'une ville écologique et innovante serait il réalisable?

Quelques extraits d'interviews en lien avec ce thème :

• Urbanization is great news: cities are concentration of opportunities so they are powerful vehicles to create wealth and at the same time shortcuts towards equality. But the 3 "S" of the process - scale, speed and scarcity - will require the coordination of academic knowledge, public policy framework, socioeconomic and cultural constraints, market implementation and a core professional chain to make urbanization sustainable. As any complex issue, the capacity to go beyond mere diagnosis and mobilize all available energies in the form of smart proposals will come from the power of synthesis. This will be the challenge and the potential contribution of strategic design.
  Alejandro Aravena (Chili), Architecte, membre du jury du Prix Pritzker et lauréat en 2008 du Prix Mondial pour une Architecture Durable.

• In order for cities to reconcile urban realities with the need for sustainable development, intergenerational participatory planning should be integrated into design processes. As urban areas grow and cities are planned, incorporating youth voices would invigorate decision-making, through interdisciplinary and intergenerational teams. Greater connectivity among young people has resulted in an increased ability to organize and mobilize around issues that matter to them. Enhanced civic participation is key to reconnect the science of sustainability with daily realities.
  Jennifer Corriero (Canada), Co-Fondateur et Directeur Général de TakingITGlobal.

• We must use our imagination to push forward a new lifestyle. How do we convince the Northern countries to reduce their consumption? How do we tell Southern countries that they can’t have the same wasteful consumption pattern prevailing in the U.S.? In this case, the role played by youth is fundamental. The valorization of free time and of a lifestyle which is slower, healthier and more respectful towards nature is growing among the youth, even in developing countries like Brazil.
  Emilio Lèbre La Rovere (Brésil), Professeur de Planification Énergétique et Environnementale à l’Institut de Technologie (COPPE) de l’Université Fédérale de Rio de Janeiro.

• What would an alternative city look like if its natural forces are respectfully used and not controlled? Vegetable and food would be produced on the streets or in the parks, floods would come and go to the benefits of the city, waste would be absorbed and cleansed by the natural processes, birds and native species would cohabit the city with human beings and the beauty of nature would be appreciated in its authenticity, not tamed nor heavily maintained. Ecological urbanism doesn’t rely on grey infrastructures, but on green infrastructure to deliver the goods and services needed by the city.
  Kongjian Yu (Chine), Professeur et Doyen de l’Ecole d’Architecture et Paysagère à l’Université de Pékin et Président de l’Institut de désign Turenscape.

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