This article was automatically translated from HIBAPRESS, the Arabic version:
Hibapress
The question of urban resilience and smart cities was at the center of a panel organized on Wednesday in Tangier, as part of the “MEDays Investments Summit”.
The panelists, in turn, emphasized the importance of developing solutions capable of facing the challenges of pollution, water and unemployment and of initiating sustainable development of cities while preserving their particularities.
According to them, smart cities are called upon to be more inclusive, notably through programs that fight against the high cost of living and grant opportunities to the greatest number of the population, including those who are not very comfortable with it. new technologies.
In this regard, the president of the Casablanca-Settat region, Abdellatif Maâzouz, stressed that his region faces a triple challenge, namely pollution, water stress and unemployment, hence the establishment of a program of regional development which places these challenges at the center of its concerns.
He specified that colossal investments of more than 11 billion dirhams have been devoted to the fight against water stress through desalination and wastewater reuse centers, noting that in terms of the fight against pollution, the council decided to ban polluting activities within several cities in the region such as Casablanca and Mohammedia, favoring activities with high added value.
Regarding transport, the region opted for an urban and intercommunal mobility plan which resulted in the choice of rail as a judicious option with the train and tram which are clean and very punctual means.
For his part, Arthur Minsat, Head of the Africa, Europe and Middle East Unit within the OECD noted that a smart city must be able to attract and retain residents and businesses without dragging congestion effects at the economic and social level, emphasizing the need to achieve a balance to curb very rapid urban growth, particularly in Africa, while capitalizing on economic, social and environmental potential.
The challenges of smart cities in Africa are unprecedented to the extent that we have a combination of opportunity and risk factors that are unique in the world, he explained, specifying that demographically, the continent will move from 1 .5 billion inhabitants to 2.5 billion by 2050, or 85% of global demographic growth, while the urban transition in the continent will increase from 45 to 65% in 2050.
Mr. Minsat also noted that Africa is experiencing a transition from urban planning driven by rural areas to that driven by the growth of large cities of more than 10 million inhabitants, noting that two thirds of African cities are exposed to extreme risks of vulnerability linked to climate change.
For his part, the deputy mayor of Marck (France), Pierre-Henri Dumont stressed that basically, smart cities were invented to face the challenges of managing waste, water and transport. and reduce social inequalities, noting that we arrive at a paradox with an effect of crowding out the population, particularly those who are least comfortable with new technologies.
According to Mr. Dumont, smart cities also present a major challenge, in this case the risk on the preservation of the particularities of city centers which are beginning to resemble each other and the frantic rise in the cost of rent which is becoming out of reach. a large segment of the population.
The 16th edition of the MEDays International Forum is being held from November 27 to 30 in Tangier, under the theme “Sovereignties and Resiliences: Towards a new global balance”.
Placed under the high patronage of King Mohammed VI, this edition brings together more than 250 very high-level speakers including heads of state and government, political decision-makers, Nobel Prize winners, directors of large international companies and influential personalities in front of an audience of more than 6,000 participants from more than 100 countries, according to the MEDays Forum Foundation and the Amadeus Institute.
