Video recording

 

 Date

Thursday 29th April 2021 - 16h00-17h00 CET

 

 Organiser:

Webinar organised by the Council of Europe’s Democratic Governance Division

 

 Languages

Bilingual event with simultaneous interpretation in English and French

 

 Short explanation

The World Forum for Democracy has given itself 12 months to answer one question: Can democracy save the environment? In April 2021 the WFD will explore the role that the local level can play in environmental action.

The COVID-19 pandemic has left public authorities at all levels facing an emergency unprecedented in both scale and scope and has exposed weaknesses in governance models. It has also served as a wake-up call: the well-being of humanity depends on the health of the environment. Metropolitan areas are at the forefront of the impending environmental disaster as they account for almost 70% of global carbon emissions and more than 60% of resource use.

Good governance, as encapsulated in the 12 Principles of Good Democratic Governance, clearly offers guidance to steer the authorities’ action. The 12 Principles call, inter alia, for the best possible use to be made of available resources; that the public good is placed before individual interests; that new and efficient solutions to problems are sought; and that there is a broad and long-term perspective on questions of sustainability and development. How can the 12 Principles be applied to urban spatial planning in ways that can help save the environment and improve the quality of life of city-dwellers across the globe?

The concept of the “15-Minute City” first emerged in 2016 and has been receiving increasingly visibility in recent months, also due to limitations to mobility that have been introduced in member States to keep the pandemic under control. Offering access to key everyday services and functions within 15 minutes of where people live, the “15-Minute City” can help tackle environmental challenges and contribute to better social well-being, protection of biodiversity and preservation of natural resources, and the promotion of a functional and responsible economy.

Join the webinar to discuss the “15-Minute City” and urban planning for the environment with Carine Rolland, Deputy Mayor of Paris in charge of Culture and the “15 Minute City”, Venla Bernelius, Assistant Professor of Urban Geography, University of Helsinki, and Tamás Dömötör, Chief Government Adviser on Urban Planning in the Prime Minister’s Office of Hungary.

Speakers
Carine ROLLAND

Carine ROLLAND

Deputy Mayor of Paris in charge of Culture and the “15 Minute City”
Carine ROLLAND

A graduate of the Institute of Political Studies (I.E.P) Sciences Po, Rennes, Carine Rolland has represented the 18th arrondissement of Paris since her first election in 2008, following a career as an executive in the fields of marketing and communication in several media companies. She has worked as a consultant in communication and participatory processes since 2017. Carine Rolland was appointed Deputy Mayor of Paris in Charge of Culture and the 15 minute city by Anne Hidalgo in July 2020.

Dr Venla BERNELIUS

Dr Venla BERNELIUS

Assistant Professor in Urban Geography, University of Helsinki
Dr Venla BERNELIUS

Dr Bernelius is a Docent at the University of Helsinki and a Leading Expert at the City of Helsinki. Her writings and research strive to understand socio-spatial development in cities, and the way that impacts the society and its institutions. Her work deals broadly with issues of urban segregation, educational outcomes, school choices, immigration, social deprivation, neighbourhood effects and creative cities. The City of Helsinki currently uses a school funding model, based on her work in modelling the educational challenges created by the school catchment area demographics.

Dr Tamás DÖMÖTÖR

Dr Tamás DÖMÖTÖR

Chief Government Adviser on Urban Planning, Prime Minister’s Office, Hungary Department of Urban and Spatial Planning, and World Heritage
Dr Tamás DÖMÖTÖR

Dr Dömötör is a Chief Government Adviser on Urban Planning in the Prime Minister’s Office of Hungary. He is landscape planner MSc, and a former professor of landscape and spatial planning methodology at Szent István University. He holds a PhD of Landscape Architecture and Landscape Ecology on the subject of democratic spatial/urban planning and landscape design with participatory methods.