KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Institute of Planners (MIP) and Nextdor Property Communications will organise the City Expo Malaysia 2021 (CEM2021), the first and largest virtual expo on city planning and development in Malaysia.
The month-long event will be held from November 8 to December 8, featuring 16 expo themes including smart city, green/eco city, heritage conservation, walkable city and transit-oriented development, among others.
City Expo Malaysia Sdn Bhd director Imran Clyde said running alongside the consumer exhibition will be an international conference that could see participation from more than planning professionals but also from a cross-section of professions related to urban management and development from the public and private sectors in Malaysia.
"The exhibition, themed 100 Years Advancing Our Cities, will among others, explore current policies and issues in urban planning and large scale urbanisation, infrastructure development issues and strategies to address rapid urbanisation without losing sight of the importance of preserving our heritage and culture," he said in a statement.
Imran said presentations would also be available to look at best practices, inclusivity and sustainable development in line with the New Urban Agenda.
MIP president Datin Noraida Saludin said the discussion surrounding town planning is of critical importance, as Malaysia has one of the highest urbanisation rates in Asia.
"Translated through best city planning practices, this clear road map to success will benefit the millions of Malaysians that live in our cities today and tomorrow.
"This year is also a good time for a critical review of the business of town planning as formal town planning in Malaysia hits its first century," she said.
The rapid urbanisation of cities requires a range of city stakeholders to occasionally pause to take stock of what has been achieved so far while keeping one eye towards the future.
With one of the highest urbanisation rates in Asia, Malaysia is a worthy subject of study by urbanists, given its ranking of 54 out of 194 countries surveyed recently, where its urbanisation was rated at 77.2 per cent, with room to grow to 88 per cent by 2050.
For citizens and planners alike, increasing urbanisation brings with it a host of challenges, such as environmental degradation, rising inequality, unsatisfactory public hygiene, other than governance structures resulting in unsatisfactory outcomes caused by overlaps or gaps.
With free admission, CEM2021 virtual expo is a single entry, multi-window platform that will allow participants to join in as many sessions as they wish, where they can watch, listen, learn and engage interactively with experts from the comfort of home.
It is the hub for like-minded people who want to make cities a better place to live, organised in conjunction with the centennial celebration of city planning in Malaysia.
Hosted on a fully virtual platform, CEM2021 is designed to drive the debate around our cities, inviting various stakeholders to share their ideas and solutions to combat the challenges brought about by urbanisation.
Leaders in city or green technology, federal government ministries and departments, state government departments and agencies, local governments, private practitioners, developers, those in academia, and non-governmental organisations are encouraged to join in order to gain valuable insights on city planning as well as share their own work and ideas with a larger audience.
This expo, which is open to everyone inside and outside Malaysia, will highlight the role of urban planners, as represented by those in MIP, and their counterparts from the region.
Its programme line-up includes events such as the National Planning Congress, Young Planners Forum, Commonwealth Association of Planners Awards, Placemaker Awards Asean 2021, and Mayor's Forum.
There will also be talks and discussions by speakers from MIP, Petronas, Iskandar Regional Development Authority, Malaysia's Ministry of Environment and Water, property developers, local authorities, agencies and associations, as well as international speakers from Colombia, Indonesia, Singapore, United States, Australia and many others.