On November 15, representatives from Vancouver of Canada, Frankfurt of Germany, Kwangju of the Republic of Korea, and other international sister cities of Guangzhou gathered in Guangzhou to share their urban management experience. Waste treatment, housing, transportation, and rainwater drainage are topics of common concern. Vancouver has been vigorously promoting a “zero waste gas” environmental program under which citizens are encouraged to sort waste and the government pays for the collection of kitchen waste and its conversion into organic soil, which is then provided free of charge to local residents for the planting of flowers, grass and crops. A significant number of residents have been participated in the program.

Johannesburg, South Africa:

BRT and the Web contributes to assimilation

On the afternoon of November 15, Parks Tau, Mayor of Johannesburg, South Africa and a delegate to the Metropolis Board of Directors Meeting, was interviewed by the press.

According to Mayor Tau, same as Guangzhou, Johannesburg, the largest city in South Africa, has launched a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system. He said that the BRT system not only provided speedy transportation but also facilitated the assimilation of migrants in and outside of the town into the local community thanks to its dedicated lane. “I think that the BRT is not only a transportation system, but also a major platform for the assimilation of the entire community. Johannesburg is a city of migrants. Many people from outside the city live in shanties. The BRT makes it easy for people from far away to come to the city, thus facilitating the integration of the entire city,” Mayor Tau said.

Mayor Tau also believed that the broadband Web also helped the assimilation of migrants from different regions into the local community. “We are working to increase the penetration of the broadband Web to ensure the rich and the poor get the same amount of information,” he said.

He added: “I always believe that technology innovations significantly improve the quality of life. We’re also popularizing smart phones and developing a series of government-sponsored software, so that our residents can access government from their mobile phones. Johannesburg also has an online property filing and evaluation system, allowing local residents to complete property filing online. This particular system also provides calculations of property tax payable by local residents and keeps local residents informed of land use plans.” To encourage local residents to minimize the use of gas, Johannesburg offers subsidies to residents who use solar energy.

According to media reports, Johannesburg plans to host the next Metropolis Board of Directors Meeting, which will be themed on “care for cities”.

Vancouver, Canada:

Subsidizing low-income residents with the proceeds of sales of expensive properties to high-income residents

To provide housing for its low-income residents, Vancouver last year launched a “mayoral special team project for housing purchase capacity”, encouraging people from different backgrounds and with different levels of income to live in the same community or even on the same residential estate.

According to Kerry Jang, Vice Mayor of Vancouver, under the project, one-third of the homes in a community is high-priced and provided to high-income people, and the remaining two-thirds of the homes are provided to medium- and low-income people. “Part of the proceeds of the sales of expensive homes is used to subsidize the provision of housing for low-income people, so that people from different classes can live under the same roof.” He said that such mixed living can enhance understanding between different classes.

Frankfurt, Germany:

Charging garbage dumping by the size of garbage bags

According to Michaelle Parisi, Vice Mayor of Frankfurt, Germany, garbage sorting has been implemented in Frankfurt for more than 15 years, and local residents conscientiously sort garbage. There are four types of garbage cans. The first type is for the collection of paper waste; the second type is for the collection of biochemical waste, such as cells and drugs; the third type is for the collection of recyclable waste; and the fourth type of for the collection of unrecyclable waste, such as kitchen waste. “At present, we’re working on the provision of a fifth type of garbage cans for the collection of glass products.”

To minimize the generation of garbage, the German government charges households for the collection of garbage that they have generated. The charges are based on the size of garbage bags. On average, a resident pays 15 Euros every three months. If a resident generates more garbage, he needs to pay extra.

Kwangju, Republic of Korea:

High-priced garbage bags introduced to curb the amount of garbage dumped

The “Carbon Bank” project of Kwangju, the Republic of Korea, is among the 30 shortlisted initiatives for the first Guangzhou Award. According to him, Vice Mayor of Kwangju, the Republic of Korea, his city launched the “Carbon Bank” Project in 2008, under which the city government collaborated with the local bank to set up a bank account for each household to receive annual rewards for energy conservation and emission reduction.

To promote garbage sorting and minimize the generation of household garbage, Kwangju has introduced a “high-priced garbage bag” scheme. Under the scheme, all local households are required to purchase garbage bags from the designated government agency. If other bags are used, the garbage will not be collected.

Melbourne, Australia:

Rainwater collected to irrigate urban greenery

According to the representative of Melbourne and vice president of the city’s Rainwater Association, the local government took advantage of the renovation of the landscaping of a local street to introduce a rainwater collection program. Under the program, the street landscaping was turned into “green islands”, and the street was repaved and a rainwater collection system was installed underneath to collect and store rainwater during the rainy season. The rainwater is then used to irrigate greenery. The system also helps prevent flooding during the rainy season.

Representative of the Metropolis President:

We need Guangzhou to provide a platform

“We need Guangzhou to provide a platform for us to communicate with other cities around the world so that we can improve our environment, enhance urban living, and raise residents’ living standards,” said the representative of the Metropolis President and Vice Chairman of Barcelona, Spain, during a press interview yesterday.

He said that at a time when cities around the world were facing an increasing number of issues, Guangzhou proposed and hosted the Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation, making the award a timely initiative. He expressed his hopes that the platform created by the Guangzhou Award will enable cities across the globe to interact more closely with one another and facilitate the implementation of a number of proposals.