UN–HABITAT CELEBRATES WORLD HABITAT DAY IN PARTNERSHIP WITH NEW YORK’S

BATTERY PARK CITY AUTHORITY, NGO COMMITTEE FOR HUMAN SETTLEMENTS

 

NEW YORK, 2 October (UN-HABITAT) -- The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) observed the annual World Habitat Day this morning in New York City with representatives from state, local government and civil society to respond to the 2006 Day’s theme -- “Cities, Magnets of Hope”.

The first Monday in October of every year is designated as World Habitat Day by the United Nations to reflect on the state of human settlements and the basic right to adequate shelter for all.  It is also intended to remind the world of its collective responsibility for the future of the human habitat.  The world is witnessing the greatest migration in history of people into towns and cities.  In 1950, one third of the world’s people lived in cities -- just 50 years later, this rose to half and will continue to grow to two thirds, or 6 billion people, by 2050.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan emphasized that the two phenomena, migration and urban growth, pose unprecedented challenges, which make it imperative to galvanize the efforts of United Nations Member States, along with non-governmental organizations, the private sector and citizens worldwide, as never before, in the quest for sustainable urbanization and inclusive cities.

The Executive Director of UN-HABITAT, Anna Tibaijuka, drawing some new facts from UN-HABITAT’s latest State of the World’s Cities 2006-2007 report, called the world’s attention to the rapid and irreversible urbanization.  The world is entering a new urban millennium, with the majority of people living in towns and cities for the first time in history.  At the same time, the number of slum dwellers is estimated to reach 1 billion in 2007.  It is also estimated that 93 per cent of the future urban population growth will occur in the cities of Asia and Africa, and to a lesser extent, Latin America and the Caribbean.

In her introductory remarks, Axumite Gebre-Egziabher, Director of the New York Office of UN- HABITAT, welcomed the participants and said that, as the world becomes more urbanized, it is important to look into the impact of migration on the social, economic and physical development of cities.  At the same time, local authorities are also encouraged to work on participatory environmental planning and management for sustainable cities.

The Hugh L. Carey Battery Park City Authority in lower Manhattan provided this year’s participants with a look at the unique urban design and vision of Battery Park City, and its pioneering “green” development.  Battery Park City is home to America’s first green residential high-rise -- the Solaire -- and all development on its 92-acre downtown property must adhere to strict environmental guidelines.

The Battery Park City Authority is a public benefit corporation created by the New York State Legislature in 1968 to develop a 92-acre site at the south-western tip of Lower Manhattan. Parcels are leased to developers who build in accordance with Battery Park City Authority guidelines, which now incorporate green provisions mandating state-of-the-art environmental specifications to maximize energy efficiency and minimize water usage, among other provisions.

Their panel of speakers included James F. Gill, Chairman of the Hugh L. Carey Battery Park City Authority; Russell Albanese, President Albanese Organization; Bryan Cho, Senior Vice President, Related Companies; Charles Fox, Deputy Secretary for Clean Energy Policy to Governor George E. Pataki; Peter Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer of New York State Energy Research and Development Authority; Susan Kaplan, United States Green Building Council – New York City Chapter Board of Directors; and James Cavanaugh, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Hugh L. Carey Battery Park City Authority.

“When we said we were going to develop green buildings, many people thought that meant the colour of the bricks,” said James Gill.  “With three residential towers opened and six more on the way, Battery Park City Authority was able to show the world that green construction not only made sense -- it made dollars and cents.”

“With the challenge of designing and constructing an environmentally sustainable residential tower in New York City came the obligation to create a prototype for healthy urban living,” said Russell C. Albanese.  “The genius of Battery Park’s green guidelines is that they led us to create an interior environment that is not only beneficial to the tenants and responsible in its use of materials, but also delivers a benefit to the external environment through its operating systems and outputs.  We like to believe that the great success of the Solaire is the level of excitement it has generated for what is possible through environmentally sustainable design.”

“With each and every sustainable project, we not only try to improve upon the standards from the last, but we also set out to have a very meaningful impact on the way buildings are built in the world,” said James Cavanaugh.

“We learned, while building our first sustainable building at Battery Park City, that there are many technologies and building practices that our industry can employ in order to reduce impacts to the environment while enhancing the quality of housing we provide to our residents.  It has made a difference in how we approach development nationwide,” said Bryan Cho.

“Under the leadership of Governor Pataki, New York has emerged as a global leader in green building design.  At Battery Park City, the new World Trade Center, and private sector developments like One Bryant Park, New York will show the world that building green pays off in every way,” said Charles Fox.

“The average building stock has more than a 50 year life expectancy, so you can imagine the thousands of people that are impacted by the interior environment created by each building we construct.  We must approach the construction of each

and every building, and the retrofit of existing buildings, in an energy efficient, sustainable and environmentally friendly manner.  The decisions we make today will impact our population and environment for decades to come," said Peter Smith.

“I am hopeful that panel discussions such as these will be more prevalent as cities grow and their infrastructure needs come to the forefront.  In that way, these needs can be addressed comprehensively and communities can grow organically, in a way that can be sustained over time.  A lot of what has been done at Battery Park City can and should be replicated elsewhere,” said Susan Kaplan.

Following the round table discussion, presentations continued from civil society organizations on issues of migration and settlements, one of the unique historical features of New York City.  Particular interest focused on New York City’s special magnetism for work opportunities and the realization by the immigrant population that affordable, safe and clean housing was not available when they arrived.  The cultural and ethnic profiles of the newest immigrants continually change from their predecessors, but their need for sustained livelihoods and affordable housing remains unchanged.

Presentations of innovative perspectives were made by the Tenement Museum team, Maggie Russell–Ciardi and Cindy Vanden Bosch, emphasizing income-generation activities of the residents in their tenements.

Ginny Schubert of Housing First! continued with an overview of those activities, which led to the creation and enforcement of housing codes and regulations in the city, some of which resulted from pressure exerted on the local government authorities by the activists of the period.

Karen Taylor, New York City Department for Aging Housing, described the unique and ever-present challenges of responding to housing needs that develop as the population ages, especially in inner-city areas.

For further information, please contact Yamina Djacta, Deputy Director, New York Office, UN-HABITAT, tel.: 1 (212) 963 4200, e-mail: habitatny@un.org; or Brian Krapf, tel.: 1 (212) 608 0333 e-mail:  brian@arztcomm.com, George Arzt Communications, Inc. For further information about UN-HABITAT please check www.unhabitat.org. 

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*     Press Release OBV/577 of 28 September should have been OBV/578.

For information media • not an official record