Recently, I returned from a trip to Asia, where I spoke at the 2010 Think Green Global Forum, an international sustainability conference. Supported by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and co-organized by the New York Institute of Technology and the Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunication, the two-day forum explored sustainability challenges and solutions to drive changes in energy practices that will benefit China and the world-at-large.

I spoke about FXFOWLE’s award-winning City Regenerative Plan for the Nordhavnen Peninsula in Copenhagen and designing the sustainable city for the 21st century (see illustrations).  My talk, “Copenhagen and Beyond,” was published in World Architecture News and further explores the project’s exploration of connecting to existing urban infrastructure, integrating open space, and developing commercial and residential networks. (www.worldarchitecturenews.com)

Part of my trip included visiting India where the School of Architecture and Planning at Anna University in Chennai invited me to speak to. I gave a second talk to the Indian Institute of Architects (IIA) in Bangalore. My lecture “Top Down/Bottom Up: Architects and Public Policy” focused on the historic role of architects in urban planning and defining public policy in America; it also examined planning trends in the 21st century and innovative planning projects in response to these trends. I spoke about the need for design leadership, the necessity to address political and economic interests, as well as the opportunity to define a sustainable vision in response to planning issues and concerns.

The talk also emphasized the importance of cities from a sustainable perspective and that high densities and large scales are appropriate when accompanied by transit and integration of world-class public open space. One can’t divorce sustainability from urbanism. Integrated thinking is not just a process for designing sustainable buildings; it can also create truly sustainable cities.

I found that this talk had special interest in India where many developers are abandoning the urban centers to focus development efforts on former agricultural sites on the periphery. As illustrated by a cartoon that appeared in an issue of Times of India the day after my talk in Bangalore – it might be easier to shift the city to a place without traffic rather than trying to control and regulate the city traffic.  Everywhere I went massive developments were sprawling into the countryside and as a consequence, the congestion already pervasive in urban cores throughout India is getting worse because most of the peripheral sites are only accessible by automobile.

"Times of India," Tuesday April 13, 2010

In both Chennai and Bangalore, the discussion was the same: Architects in India need to become more engaged in policy issues. Public officials and planning regulators must become more appreciative of good design and sound planning. The only way that such objectives can be realized is if architects and public officials engage in a dialogue with each other. It was interesting to me that such issues are not just an American concern. They resonate around the world.