Modernisation in cities has caused pollution and traffic congestion and depleted green areas, officials at a conference said.
Delegates at the Urban Planning Symposium in Sharjah stressed the need to restructure cities in accordance with the needs of man and not to meet the requirements of machines such as cars.
"We modernised cities with buildings rising to the sky. We constructed boulevards, flyovers and huge tunnels to serve the car. But, we often forgot to plan for man as we did for the car, the factory and the store.
"The size of the man has diminished compared with the building, the factory and the car. He feels alienated from his environment, making life difficult in a modern city," said Abdul Raoof Al Rawabdah, former prime minister of Jordan, in his keynote address yesterday at the seventh Urban Planning Symposium.
His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, inaugurated the symposium at the University of Sharjah.
Entitled Cities in the Postmodern Age: Coordination, Networking and Regional Development the symposium has been organised by the Directorate of Town Planning and Survey, RICS Foundation, UK and the London South Bank University, UK.
Some 400 specialists in town planning from the UAE, Middle East and countries around the world are participating. Over 100 research papers on urban planning will be presented during the three-day event.
Al Rawabdah said a modern city is no more an oasis isolated from surrounding cities. Therefore, it is a must to have regional planning covering all adjacent cities and coordinating their projects, services and plans.
Dr Sheikh Sultan told reporters that Sharjah holds a distinguished place among modern cities.
"In Sharjah, we have a lot of public areas, parks and sports facilities for residents making it an ideal modern city," he said, adding the symposium has been playing an important role in the sustainable development of Sharjah.
Dr Obaid Al Tunaiji, Director General of the Directorate of Sharjah Town Planning and Survey, said Arab cities and societies suffered a lot due to industrialisation, which polluted the environment and made life difficult.
"We need to restructure our development procedure and move our industries outside the city in a bid to provide healthy living to residents. We need to develop more suburban areas with full urban facilities to minimise concentration of people at the centre of the city. This will help us reduce traffic congestion and overcome housing problems in addition to controlling environmental pollution," he added.
Gulf NewsAl Tunaiji said the relationship of postmodernism to planning remained an under researched field of enquiry. "This symposium will focus on exploring the impact of cutting edge ideas and practices on urban and regional planning, particularly in their application to the Middle Eastern region," he added. Mohammed Abdul Hamid Al Saqr, Director General of Arab Cities Organisation; Sheikh Abdullah Al Ali Al Nuaim, Chairman of Arab Institute for Development, and Professor Ismail Al Beshri, Chancellor of University of Sharjah.
