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Economy of a Water City

Katarzyna Majcherczyk

Moderator

date June 28, 2022 | 12:30 - 13:30
place
Urban Expo: Urban Library room
organization
Open Eyes Economy
country
Poland
language
Polish
theme
Greener Urban Futures
Reference: 
UL 6

Summary

Economy of a Water City is a session that responds to the challenges faced by cities related to their green and blue development. The genesis of urban centers around the world was in most cases related to their location next to water reservoirs or along rivers. This shows how important a role water plays in the city. The development of cities is continuous, their area is constantly expanding, which results in an increasing impact on the planet as well as on its water resources. Hence, there is a need to develop an appropriate urban policy that will implement the principles of sustainable development and allow for the preservation of development opportunities for the next generations. The Water City Index was created from a very strong relationship between cities and water, which is an annual ranking of the effectiveness of municipal water policies in Poland.

Read more about organizers:

The Open Eyes Economy is a movement focused on values, with economic values being just one of many. Intangible assets (e.g. design, social commitment, ecological responsibility), which so far were of secondary importance, are becoming more and more important for brands. In times of crisis of social trust in business, brands should make them the goal of their existence. When this happens, the company can be called an "idea company" and the brand referred to as "brand-culture". One of the basic assumptions of the economy of open eyes is the belief that the reflection on the economy has too much focus on business, transactions and the multiplication of capital, rejecting thinking in terms of an axionormative order. More: https://oees.pl/en/ 

Arcadis is the world's leading company delivering sustainable design, engineering, and consultancy solutions for natural and built assets. The solutions they develop address important societal challenges around resilience, places, and mobility. More: https://www.arcadis.com/en/

Cracow University of Economics is a modern university with traditions dating back to 1925. It conducts extensive scientific research and is currently educating 15 000 students.The University is one of the largest centers for economic research and sciences in Poland. CUE students acquire their knowledge in three organizational units: College of Economics, Finance and Law, College of Economics and Public Administration and College of Management and Quality Sciences. More: https://uek.krakow.pl/en/ 

Objectives

The session is closely related to the motto of WUF11 "We are changing our cities for a better future". For us, a better future for cities means the implementation of a developed strategy for a responsible urban water policy, which is a response to the emerging challenges related to the sustainable development of cities. It is important to create urban centers that will foster the lives of the next generations. Water is an indispensable resource in cities, and requires responsible management, minimizing emerging problems, and at the same time using its enormous benefits. The WATER CITY INDEX developed by us indicates universal solutions for cities, and also shows which areas in individual centers require special improvement and attention. It is worth noting that the green future of cities is also blue, i.e. it is related to water, and this resource cannot be ignored in the context of developing strategies for sustainable and environmentally friendly cities. The development of solutions assumes cooperation between local government institutions, experts, and local activists who know best the immediate needs of cities.

The implementation of activities resulting from the WATER CITY INDEX will allow the development of cities towards the blue-green infrastructure, and the dialogue between the participants of the session will open up a broader discussion on the need for development in this direction and the exchange of views, which is the driving force behind further progress. for sustainable development.

Session speakers

Speaker
Role
Organization
Country
Professor Jerzy Hausner
Chairman of the Program Council
Open Eyes Economy
Professor Anna Januchta-Szostak
Associate Professor
Poznan University of Technology
Mr. Michał Kudłacz
Associate Professor
Cracow University of Economics
Mr. Krzysztof Kutek
Sales Director
Arcadis Poland
Mr. Jakub Mazur
Deputy Major
City of Wrocław
Ms. Klara Ramm
Expert
Economic Chamber Polish Waterworks