2019 CAPASUS Annual Conference & Symposium
The Art and Science of Urban Living
2019-07-21
Background
On November 5, 1979, Mayor Maynard Jackson of Atlanta and Mayor Teng-hui Lee of Taipei formally established the sister city relationship, and Taipei became the seventh sister city of Atlanta. 2019 will see the fortieth anniversary of the magnificent international friendship. To commemorate this anniversary and to echo a series of diplomatic and community-based activities between Taipei and Atlanta, CAPASUS’s 2019 annual meeting and international conference will be surrounding the theme of “The Art and Science of Urban Living” with the focus on:
- a new vision of urban planning to shape a livable, walkable urban environment;
- the application of technologies such as IoT and big-data in the urban infrastructure;
- urban sustainability, revitalization, and cultural/societal diversity.
Today, the population of the Atlanta metropolitan area is approximately 6 million, and that of Taipei metropolitan area 7 million, both testifying that urbanization is a global trend. As the Bloomberg magazine references the databases of the United States Department of Agriculture and pinpoints, 80% of Americans live in urban areas. “The 10 most productive metropolitan areas alone contributed to about 40 percent of U.S. GDP in 2016.” Moreover, the annual increase of urban areas is equal to the combined size of Los Angeles, Houston, and Phoenix. However, urban development also brings disadvantages. Three transformational trends occurred in this worldwide urbanization process: 1) rising inequality; 2) labor redundancy; 3) imbalanced demographic changes. Therefore, a new vision of urban development and transformation needs to include supporting the poor, weak and powerless, and to sustain social justice. For example, Smart City development not only provides efficiency and convenience but also needs to incorporate open educational concepts, with its workforce preparation gearing towards new technologies. Illustrating the potentially damaging impacts of these trends and ushering the modern urban living forward will require scientific researches and technologies, as well as innovative concepts and cultural paradigm shifts.
CAPASUS the organizer
In the past four decades, city diplomacy contributed greatly to Taiwan’s globalization process. Based in Atlanta, the southeastern hub of American economy and education, CAPASUS has a distinct position to take part in the commemoration of the anniversary of Atlanta-Taipei sister city relations. 2019 CAPASUS annual conference thus aims to provide a platform for city officials, experts, and scholars from both Taipei and Atlanta to address the overarching trends of urban living. The conference will examine Taipei and Atlanta’s development in the past 40 years and provide a vision of twenty-first-century urbanization. For example, Atlanta hosted the 1996 Olympics, and has since continued to improve the public’s access to its community improvement districts (CIDs); and it has provided more safe and exceptional parks, facilities, and programs for the residents in the 2010s. Similarly, Taipei concentrated on developing information and communication technologies (ICT) and further adopted the discourse of cosmopolitanism and community empowerment in the 2000s. Its ICT-oriented urban planning strategies also makes great use of big data to quickly respond to the residents’ needs. Hence, key infrastructure achievements like the rapid transit system and ICT of Taipei and Marta and Beltline of Atlanta have transformed each city respectively. The conference will also review how each city further revitalizes aging neighborhoods and provides functional, safe, comfortable, and fun pedestrian experiences.
Symposium at Georgia Tech
As the prelude to our traditional annual conference, Atlanta-Taipei Sister City Symposium at Georgia Tech on Friday, 8/2 will reflect on the urban development of the past 40 years of Taipei and Atlanta, and attempt to illustrate the visions of their future. Special speakers from Taiwan, Republic of China, including Prof. Charles Lin – formal deputy mayor of Taipei; Mr. Bing-Yu Chiu – urban issue columnist and author; and celebrated architect Mr. Wen-Tai Hsieh are here to meet with Atlanta city commissioner Tim Keane, and the Atlanta BeltLine founder Ryan Gravel. Special guests invited include Georgia Tech professor James Tsai, distinguished designer Jan Lorenc, senior associates of Portman Architects, Steve Lin, urban planning consultant Dan Rueter, as well as other planning and design academics and professionals.
The former deputy mayor of Taipei, Prof. Lin, who just recently published a two-volume book – Regeneration and Innovation-The Development Agenda of Taipei, will start by focusing on the grand urban strategies of Taipei with case-studies from past decades of multi-core development, TOD progresses, and affordable housing achievements. Columnist Bing-Yu Chiu will provide critical observation and cross-city comparison of urban transportation patterns. Architect Wen-Tai Hsieh will showcase his historical and cultural preservation projects that are ingrained with the urban fabric. In the afternoon, Commissioner Keane and Mr. Gravel will start with the energizing impact of Atlanta BeltLine, then review past stories, and present future vision of Atlanta’s urban planning. We are confident that the symposium will infuse meaningful learning and spark academic discourse, and enrich the significance of the 40th sister—cityhood anniversary.
Conference Presentations at Atlanta Marriott Northeast/Emory Area
On Saturday, 8/3, a more traditional program arrangement takes place. Renowned researcher and distinguished Georgia Tech Urban Design professor, Ellen Dunham-Jones will be the keynote speaker on Saturday morning. Her talk will use Atlanta as an example to illustrate how the trend of suburban emulating downtown occurs in a typical city of America. Mr. Reuter will follow and examine the path of growth of the Atlanta metropolitan region and review various historical turning points and those who contribute to the process. Prof. Charles Lin will give the second installment on Taipei with the focus on case studies of urban regeneration, which he asserts to be a blueprint not only for Taipei but also applicable to other major cities in Taiwan, and that innovative city and smart city concepts promoting strong business growth will be able to sustain the future of major metro areas of Taiwan. Another distinguished Georgia Tech professor, Dr. James Tsai will follow with applications of sustainable and smart technologies on urban infrastructures and improve the quality of urban living. We’ll have a panel discussion and Q & A session with these three speakers before our business lunch.
Equally remarkable sessions by five other presenters will continue after lunch. Urban issue columnist and author, Mr. Bing-Yu Chiu will start with an examination of how urban transportation affects regional development, with recommendations on transportation strategies that could ensure a livable city. Architect Steve Lin will present “Atlanta’s Architect” John Portman’s urban philosophy and his brand of city renovation and innovation, and how Portman’s projects interacted with the historical and cultural context of Atlanta. We next switch a bit to look at how urban design could highlight local social and cultural context while enhancing the quality of living. Award-winning Taiwanese architect, Mr. Wen-Tai Hsieh will introduce his celebrated projects such as Taichung Literature Museum, Taichung Railroad Station, and Empire Sugar Factory Heritage Museum. There can be many approaches to such place-making designs, and our next presenter, branding and design master, Jan Lorenc will present to us how public arts enhance all kinds of places of a city. Lastly, Mr. Ed Judd who is familiar with the real estate, food service, leisure, and entertainment establishments along Atlanta BeltLine will help us with must-know and quick tips on how to enjoy this incredibly popular feature of Atlanta.
Download Conference Materials
CAPASUS 2019 Conference Brochure
Conference Information for Non-members
