NewCities and King Abdullah Economic City Report Highlights Value-creation in Global Greenfield Cities
March 16, 2016 — Press
Click here to read in Arabic
KAEC, Saudi Arabia and Montréal, Canada – March 16, 2016. NewCities in collaboration with King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), Saudi Arabia, has released the third Cityquest – KAEC Forum report, focusing on how forward-thinking greenfield cities can build physical, commercial and social value for citizens, developers and governments.
“New Cities and Concepts of Value: Planning Building and Responding to New Urban Realities” highlights the opportunities for defining and creating value in these new and developing cities for their multiple stakeholders. The report is based on discussions at the third annual Cityquest – KAEC Forum which took place in King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia from December 8-10, 2015.
“The success of the Cityquest initiative has positioned King Abdullah Economic City firmly at the center of the global strategic dialogue around new city building,” said Fahd AlRasheed, Group CEO and Managing Director of KAEC. “This report emphasizes the imperative to create modern, livable spaces combining intelligent use of technology, affordable residential properties, universal educational opportunities and a robust economic ecosystem, to meet the growing global demand for urban infrastructure.”
“There are unparalleled opportunities for experimentation and innovation in these new cities,” said John Rossant, Founder and Chairman of NewCities. “New cities everywhere have a lot in common. The Cityquest – KAEC Forum is a unique opportunity for leaders in this field to share knowledge. While building a new city is an enormous challenge and faces many critics, the ongoing conversation from the 2015 Forum strengthens the foundations for the developments to come.”
New cities are racing to meet the huge global demand for livable, affordable, and entrepreneurial urban environments. The report builds on the dialogue of previous editions of the Forum and encapsulates the most influential ideas on the future role these cities will play. The report is further supplemented with research-based recommendations by NewCities to help new cities build on best practices and adopt creative approaches to creating value for investors, businesses and future residents.
“New Cities and Concepts of Value” explores three overarching themes that hold value for all new cities. Physical Value in Cities explores infrastructure, the built environment and technology. Value for Business in Cities examines places that are valuable to businesses and people. Value that Can’t Be Built offers recommendations for new cities on developing the intangible value associated with urban living, such as attracting residents and building communities.
The Cityquest – KAEC Forum is the largest global event of its kind, attracting 250 highlevel experts from 25 countries including 18 new city leaders last December. The report provides case-based examples and new ideas drawn from all of the cities featured at the Forum:
- Alamein New City (Egypt)
- Cyberjaya (Malaysia)
- Economic City of Egypt (Egypt)
- Gujarat International Finance Tec City (India)
- Iskandar Malaysia (Malaysia)
- Jazan Economic City (Saudi Arabia)
- Kabul New City (Afghanistan)
- King Abdullah Economic City (Saudi Arabia)
- Konza Technology City (Kenya)
- Lavasa (India)
- Masdar (Abu Dhabi)
- Mohammed VI Green City (Morocco)
- Rawabi (Palestine)
- Sejong (South Korea)
- Songdo (South Korea)
- Sri City (India)
- Tatu City (Kenya)
- Yachay Knowledge City (Ecuador).
Access the full “New Cities and Concepts of Value: Planning Building and Responding to New Urban Realities” report here: http://bit.ly/Cityquest2015
Find out more about Cityquest at www.cityquest.net
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Press contact:
Thomas Ledwell
Director of Communications
NewCities
tledwell@newcitiesfoundation.org
+1 514 987 0029
About KAEC
King Abdullah Economic City is one of the largest and most important private sector initiatives in the Middle East. Strategically located on the coast of the Red Sea in the north of Jeddah, KAEC is being developed into a fully integrated city with a capacity to host a population of two million people when completed. The city’s Industrial Valley has succeeded in attracting more than £ää national and international industrial companies, of which half are either operational or under construction. The King Abdullah Port, which commenced operations in January, Óä£{, be the largest port by capacity on the Red Sea by the end of Óä£È twith the ability to handle {°x million TEUs per year. The city’s Haramain Railway district and station will connect with Jeddah and King Abdulaziz International Airport in less than Îä minutes and Makkah and Al Madinah within one hour. KAEC’s residential districts are supported by a high quality infrastructure and a complete range of services and facilities such as the World Academy School, along with a medical center for primary care and emergency operated by Dr. Soliman Fakeeh Hospital Company, KAEC represents one of the most innovative public private partnerships around the world and is the flagship of the Saudi government’s economic cities program.
www.kaec.net
Twitter: @kaec_saudi
About NewCities
NewCities is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to making cities more inclusive, connected, healthy and vibrant. Focusing on people, places and policies, we bring together a global network of public and private sector leaders and Urban Tech innovators to foster results-oriented collaboration. We also produce actionable research that can be implemented by decision-makers across sectors.
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