One + May 2011 - (Page 60)

Brazil’s utopian vision of its urban future was epitomized in this brave, new capital city, modernist in form and scale and a vanguard of the bossa nova mood that was sweeping the country at the time. short notice, we had to organize technical visits to the favelas for 1,000 people who expressed an interest. At a capacity of 40 people per bus, you can imagine the logistics of this! “We also had a surge of interest from high-proﬁle delegate groups who wanted to stimulate speciﬁc dialogue sessions,” Acioly continued. “For example, there was strong desire from the U.S. and Brazilian representatives to have a policy dialogue with NGOs on tackling derelict areas in their respective cities. Again at short notice, we did what we could to facilitate special sessions, but we hadn’t foreseen such enthusiastic levels of engagement.” Given the presence of the Brazilian president and high-proﬁle delegate groups at the forum, there was the question of whether appropriate security and transportation arrangements could easily be arranged, in light of the untested status of the new venue. “These were certainly issues that we had to consider as part of our event planning and preparation,” Martinez said. “However, with it being a UN event the forum becomes international space and subject to UN security. Inside the buildings, this was taken care of. We were lent ofﬁcial security guards, and the UN provided advice to what levels of security would be necessary in light of the speakers, delegates and attendees. Beyond this, there was considerable support from the city in providing extra security and ensuring transit routes to and from the venue were kept safe and clear. There was also the advice that all UN delegates stay in the same hotel, which we organized, a by-product of which was that it simpliﬁed organizing bus journeys to and from the venue.” The ﬁve days of the World Urban Forum were heralded a success for the venue, event and city, recording the highest attendance to date. “The success of the ven- ue, how it came about, what it represents and how it hosted the forum cannot be underestimated,” Martinez said. “It makes us proud that the venue has now been chosen to host Rio +20, the Earth Summit in 2012, reﬂecting not only the good work that we put in but also what’s possible to achieve with political will.” While the innovativeness of this event has already boosted the regeneration of the port area, more importantly it is the catalyst for the work to be done with Rio’s—and by extension Brazil’s and the world’s—favelas. And with political upheaval seemingly contagious across many countries of the contemporary world and new governments having to assume control at short notice, there will be inevitable challenges to ensure that housing programs and land policies are in place to secure decent living standards for future populations. It is therefore reassuring that UN-HABITAT’s World Urban Forum will continue to occur biannually in continental rotation to offer political and practical assistance on how best to prepare for a more densely urbanized future. ROB COTTER is a freelance journalist based in Berlin, Germany. 60 one+ 05.11

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of One + May 2011

One + May 2011
Contents
Energy of Many
Impressions
Meeting Design Goes Mobile
Picking Brains
Agenda
Ask the Experts
Thoughts+Leaders
Overheard
Art of Travel
Web Watch
Radical Co-creation
Engagement + Innovation = Wunderbar
Top Spots
Connections
Irrelevant
The Business of Being Social
Safety in Numbers
Ads, Sponsors and Patrons
Should I Stay or Should I Go?
It’s Getting Better All the Time
Blame It on Rio
Ride Free
Learning How the Brain Learns
Just Face It
Becoming Mindful with Your Meetings
Group Think
The Mesh Meeting
Your Community
Making a Difference
Until We Meet Again

One + May 2011