17 October 2009 | 10:00am - 12:30pm | Fringe Theatre

Will Hong Kong continue to be one of the greatest cities in the world to live, work and play in? The ongoing debate over infrastructure, public space, building heights, walled buildings, urban renewal. the harbourfront, heritage, nature conservation, the destruction of rural land, and air, noise and light pollution demonstrates a growing concern over our planning and development decisions. The experience of our urban environment is increasingly at odds with the fact that we are the only global business centre with such unique topography: the harbour, mountains, natural shorelines, white sand beaches, country parks, reservoirs ... At CitySpeak, leading architects, planners and activists will debate a key question: How do we balance density and the quality of our public realm?

Opening Address
Bernard Charnwut Chan
Chairman of the Council for Sustainable Development , which is currently consulting the community on "Building Design to Foster a Quality and Sustainable Built Environment"

Speakers
Rocco Yim : Architect, well known for landmarks such as IFC and the new Government Offices at Tamar. He is also competing for the West Kowloon Cultural District master plan.
Vincent Ng : Architect, columnist, outspoken critic and member of the Urban Design Alliance and Harbourfront Enhancement Committee .
lan Brownlee: Consultant Planner and former Government employee, who helps developers and community groups with development proposals and objections.

Moderator
Paul Zimmerman , Urban Activist and a Founding Member of Designing Hong Kong Limited