Dongtan kicks off Forum debate

Networking organisation the Forum for the Built Environment (fbe) has launched a new series of networking breakfast events for London and the South East, at the Wembley Stadium.

The first event A Future for (Y)our Cities features guest speaker Chris Luebkeman, Arup’s director for global foresight and innovation. He will be giving a unique insight into the development of China’s new eco-city Dongtan.

Those in charge of the scheme say that although it will be a new city, with many thousands of inhabitants, and an urban development, it will cause no appreciable damage to the earth's environment.

Luebkeman said: “The future is very difficult to discern; there are many ways in which we attempt to create various stories about what we believe will turn into the future."

“Focusing on Dongtan, the world’s first eco-city, our current thinking on sustainable urbanisation and the factors, which are driving change globally, this presentation will take us around the world and into some of our plausible futures, exploring our understanding of what drives change and how this relates to sustainable urban development.”