With the World Urban Forum taking place this April in Medellin, Colombia, cities come to the spotlight once again at UN Habitat’s flagship event. This is a climactic moment because, as of the last WUF, a handful of events, summits and movements have sprung up across the globe celebrating, addressing and debating the cities in which we live today.
Cities are at the centre of many political, corporate and social agendas. From power devolution to urban innovation initiatives from Fortune 500 firms to dedicated sections in top news journals, everyone seems to be hoping on board the urban train. This however, makes it increasingly harder to differentiate between authentic movements with true adherents and a passing trend that enhances marketing strategies.
Of course, cities are important, but are we over-talking them? Is it a case of too much discussion spoils the broth?
The former is hard to acknowledge because cities have been around since the dawn of civilisation and tagging them as a trend becomes somewhat redundant. But with the advent and growth of new mass communications streams, it is clear that cities have come to be at the centre of everyone’s attention.
For our next #citytalk tweetchat, we invite you to discuss whether cities are over-hyped or if this discussion can lead to a shift towards localised agendas that put communities at heart of cities.
Join our next #citytalk tweetchat with Future Cape Town on Wednesday, 19 February 7PM GMT/8 PM CET/2PM EST
Photo: ggallice
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