Eng. Hussain Nassir Lootah, Director General of Dubai Municipality, on Tuesday has inaugurated the Future Cities summit in Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre that takes place from 8-10 October alongside Cityscape Global 2013, bringing together the world’s leading urban planners armed with the essential knowledge and know-how to ensure regional cities maintain wellbeing, growth and development amid a constantly changing global context.

The conference is organised by Dubai Municipality in collaboration with theEnvironment Centre for Arab Towns and the Arab Towns Organisation aimed at putting in place strategies for prosperous and sustainable cities of the future.

With Dubai at the forefront, Future Cities shares case study examples of the key pillars essential for an internationally competitive city: security, water & waste management, tourism & hospitality, transport, energy management, disaster relief, and green building.

’As one of the world’s youngest and most ambitious emerging cities, Dubai is proving its resilience in the face of enormous global change,’ said His Excellency Eng. Hussain Lootah, Director General of Dubai Municipality , while delivering the opening address.

’Dubai is eager to proactively meet the challenges as it strives to maintain its position as a globally competitive city. At Future Cities, we seek to create a dialogue among international and regional urban leaders who are willing to start from the beginning and reconsider how best to create their future city,’ Lootah said.

’Due to the strong ties of man with the environment and reliance on natural resources and the unsustainable use of these resources, we need to plan well for the future. It’s important to set clear standards of the urban environment through the adoption of eco-friendly solutions and tools giving opportunities for continuity and sustainability, through which only the contemporary cities can achieve ecological balance and create harmony between man and environment with shared responsibility among all inhabitants of the earth,’ he added.

H.E. Dr. Rashid Ahmed Bin Fahad, Minister of UAE Ministry of Environment & Water; H.E. Lieutenant General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, Commander in Chief of the Dubai Police; and H.E. Dr. Abdeladim Lhafi, the High Commissioner for Water, Forests and Desertification in Morocco also joined the speaker panel at Future Cities.

Dr. Aiman Soleiman, Manager of Aqaba International Laboratories in Jordan, addressed delegates about Jordan’s landmark Aqaba Special Economic Zone (ASEZA) and its environmental management policies. He said: ’Future Cities presents an ideal platform to share experience, learn, and network with our industry peers.

’I believe that there is always something to share and something to learn as we all aim to create a better life in our cities. As urban planners, our mandate is to keep urban developments within a sustainable framework, and we view Future Cities as an integral part of this process,’ Soleiman said.

Future Cities, supported by Commercial Bank of Dubai as Official Banking Sponsor and Lab Createrics as Sponsor, explored the major issues facing world leaders and urban planning experts, including how cities carry out efficient water distribution; the positive impact tourism can have on the environment; how cities can plan for post-recession development; and what strategies can ensure that energy is affordable for everyone.

The region’s leading conference in sustainable urban development is co-located with the Global Real Estate Summit and the MENA Mortgage and Affordable Housing Congress, completing the conference line-up at Cityscape Global this year.

Now in its 12th edition, Cityscape Global 2013 has attracted more than 200 international and regional exhibitors covering 25,000sqm of exhibition space. The global real estate showcase has been on an upward growth curve since 2011, and will be the largest it has been in four years.