CityNet joined a cadre of international organizations dedicated to low carbon urban initiatives at the 2nd Low Carbon Cities Forum hosted by UNESCAP Subregional Office for East and North-East Asia and Incheon Metropolitan City. Taking place from December 6-8 in Songdo, Incheon, the forum examined various approaches to achieving low carbon cities and culminated in field visits which included the international benchmark for sustainable landfills: Sudokwon Landfill Site. During the Opening Session, dignitaries such as Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeongbeok, 8th Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-Moon, and former Minister of the Environment of the Republic of Korea, Yoo Young Sook imparted their wisdom and well-wishes for the success of low carbon urban projects.
CityNet organized Session 5 on Citizen and Stakeholder Engagement and focused on inclusive strategies toward realizing low carbon cities. The 90 minute session was expertly moderated by Mr. Paulie Mora, Senior Program Officer and featured 3 panelists. Ms. Melissa Chin, Strategy and Analytics Manager at Think City, presented on participatory processes towards sustainable cities, snapshotting initiatives in Malaysia sponsored by Think City. Then, Mr. Dong-ryul Kang, Network Manager of SDSN Korea, discussed partnerships between local governments and youth with a focus on Dangjin City, a major energy producing city in the Republic of Korea. Finally, Ms. Andrea Valentina A. Villaroman, the Director of the Climate Change & Environmental Sustainability Department of Quezon City, explained her city’s Trash to Cashback program that was created in tandem with Basic Environmental Systems and Technologies. The session concluded with an interactive open forum that engaged all members of the audience and a call for all assembled to compile their best practices on the Urban SDG Knowledge Platform.
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Chris Di Gennaro is a Program Officer at CityNet, where he manages the Urban SDG Knowledge Platform, a joint project with UNESCAP and the Seoul Metropolitan Government. Previously, he worked at ESCAP to organize an urban innovation themed startup competition. Chris holds a Master of Korean Studies from Yonsei University and a Bachelor of Psychology from Vassar College. He is keenly interested in the workings of cities and facilitating sustainable urban development.
