World-class cities that want to remain relevant as centres of global innovation and wealth need to appeal to young middle-class people in the Asian region, according to Chris Choa, leader of the urban development practice Aecom.
For the past century, Europe and North America have formed the economic centre of the world, but that centre is not permanent, it is always changing, Choa said during a keynote address on investing in world-class cities, hosted in the International Business Lounge, at the Provada real estate fair in Amsterdam on Wednesday.
Over 2000 years ago, the middle Euphrates Valley was the economic centre of the world and with the rising power of Asia, it is shifting back to that region as the number of people moving from rural to urban communities continues to grow. 'At present around 10% of the global middle class lives in India and China. But by 2050 that figure will rise to 70%,' Choa said. ' Why does this matter? People who consume, move around the world and engage in trade...If you can't attract the Chinese, Indians or Mexicans to your cities, you won't thrive. Global cities need to focus on the next generation of wealth creators.'
Successful cities embrace constant urban renewal, he added. 'A city is never good enough, it is never finished. Paris and Venice are beautiful cities, but they have stopped innovating, they have embraced change.' Choa conceded that constant change means disruption as the improvement of transport systems for example can wreak havoc with traffic flows. 'But in the end people are attracted to those cities that are brave enough to make the changes.'
THREE TRENDS
During his address, Choa defined three key trends that are defining world-class cities. 'We have to acknowledge that we are in a globalising era, that cities now have more in common with communities thousands of kilometres away than with smaller towns or villages just 10 km away...Global cities are linked together more than any other places ever before.'
In this urbanising age, cities are becoming more important than nations, he added. 'We are entering a network of other cities.' Thirdly, we are living in a competitive age, he said. 'There will be winners and losers and the best connected cities will win. If a city is not big enough, it will lose.'
Pointing to Amsterdam, which has maintained its position in city rankings in recent years although it is slipping slightly, Choa said the fortunes of cities are not guaranteed. 'Cities can lose and gain very easily, even in the space of a lifetime...On a nation basis, the Netherlands doesn't do particularly well. But in terms of digital entrepreneurship Amsterdam is number 2 or 3 in the rankings...Young people are figuring it out that Amsterdam is a nice place to live.'
HOLLAND METRPOLE
Commenting on a recent initiative by the big four Dutch cities - Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht - to form what has become known as the Holland Metropole, Choa said confidence about identity was key. 'If you want to become more attractive as a city or region, you have to think about how to specialise. You have to be confident about who you are. The secret of successful cities is not their nice buildings or parks, but their people. Young people are attracted to other young people.'
