The document was signed by Anatoly Makhovikov, the head of the Perm administration, and Jeremy Dawkins, vice president of the International Society of Urban and Regional Planners. The exact dates of the event have already been determined - the 48th ISOCARP Congress will be held on September 10-13, 2012.
The ISOCARP Congress has never been held in our country, and it is no coincidence that Perm was the first of all Russian cities to receive the right to host it. As the coordinator of the NP “Association of Urban Development Documentation Developers” Dmitry Narinsky told us, international experts highly appreciated the innovative approach to solving the issues of urban planning and territorial planning that Perm is demonstrating today. It is difficult to argue with this: in fact, this is the only city in Russia that not only attracted leading Western experts to solving urban planning problems, but also was able to adapt their proposals to the requirements of domestic legislation. “The documents developed and the steps taken by Perm show that the spatial development of the city is an important direction in the activities of local authorities. Perm is gaining achievements in urban planning and planning that are interesting to specialists from all over the world,”said Jeremy Dawkins at the signing ceremony.
The theme for the 48th ISOCARP Congress is “Dynamic planning in a changing urban world”. The main directions of future discussion have already been determined - these are management tasks in the context of a rapid growth in the rate of urbanization, socio-economic aspects of territorial planning and environmental changes. As Dmitry Narinsky emphasized in an interview with Archi.ru, the fundamental difference of the upcoming congress is that for the first time not only global topics, but also local issues will be included in its main program. For comparison: at last year's congress held in Wuhan (PRC), issues of Chinese urban planning were discussed in parallel with the main discussion. Among the topics included in the program of the congress by the Russian side are such issues as the transition from state design institutes to private designers and consultants, the formation of a professional community of planners and the experience of Perm as the undisputed leader of urban planning in our country.
By the way, usually ISOCARP congresses are held at the end of October, but for Perm, where snow usually falls in the second half of autumn, an exception was made. The congress itself promises to be accompanied by an extensive program of additional events - this is the work of the youth section, lectures at the Perm National Research Polytechnic University, and meetings with leading architects. Also, by September 10, the city will host an exhibition center of the Congress, which will be open to everyone.
A. M.
