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New Cities Foundation and King Abdullah Economic City Report Highlights Value-creation in Global Greenfield Cities

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KAEC, Saudi Arabia and Montréal, Canada – March 16, 2016. The New Cities Foundation in collaboration with King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), Saudi Arabia, has released the third Cityquest – KAEC Forum report, focusing on how forward-thinking greenfield cities can build physical, commercial and social value for citizens, developers and governments

“New Cities and Concepts of Value: Planning Building and Responding to New Urban Realities” highlights the opportunities for defining and creating value in these new and developing cities for their multiple stakeholders. The report is based on discussions at the third annual Cityquest – KAEC Forum which took place in King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia from December 8-10, 2015.

“The success of the Cityquest initiative has positioned King Abdullah Economic City firmly at the center of the global strategic dialogue around new city building,” said Fahd Al-Rasheed, Group CEO and Managing Director of KAEC. “This report emphasizes the imperative to create modern, livable spaces combining intelligent use of technology, affordable residential properties, universal educational opportunities and a robust economic ecosystem, to meet the growing global demand for urban infrastructure.”

“There are unparalleled opportunities for experimentation and innovation in these new cities,” said John Rossant, Founder and Chairman of the New Cities Foundation. “New cities everywhere have a lot in common. The Cityquest – KAEC Forum is a unique opportunity for leaders in this field to share knowledge. While building a new city is an enormous challenge and faces many critics, the ongoing conversation from the 2015 Forum strengthens the foundations for the developments to come.”

New cities are racing to meet the huge global demand for livable, affordable, and entrepreneurial urban environments. The report builds on the dialogue of previous editions of the Forum and encapsulates the most influential ideas on the future role these cities will play. The report is further supplemented with research-based recommendations by the New Cities Foundation to help new cities build on best practices and adopt creative approaches to creating value for investors, businesses and future residents.

“New Cities and Concepts of Value” explores three overarching themes that hold value for all new cities. Physical Value in Cities explores infrastructure, the built environment and technology. Value for Business in Cities examines places that are valuable to businesses and people. Value that Can’t Be Built offers recommendations for new cities on developing the intangible value associated with urban living, such as attracting residents and building communities.

The Cityquest – KAEC Forum is the largest global event of its kind, attracting 250 high-level experts from 25 countries including 18 new city leaders last December. The report provides case-based examples and new ideas drawn from all of the cities featured at the Forum:

  • Alamein New City (Egypt)
  • Cyberjaya (Malaysia)
  • Economic City of Egypt (Egypt)
  • Gujarat International Finance Tec City (India)
  • Iskandar Malaysia (Malaysia)
  • Jazan Economic City (Saudi Arabia)
  • Kabul New City (Afghanistan)
  • King Abdullah Economic City (Saudi Arabia)
  • Konza Technology City (Kenya)
  • Lavasa (India)
  • Masdar (Abu Dhabi)
  • Mohammed VI Green City (Morocco)
  • Rawabi (Palestine)
  • Sejong (South Korea)
  • Songdo (South Korea)
  • Sri City (India)
  • Tatu City (Kenya)
  • Yachay Knowledge City (Ecuador).

Access the full “New Cities and Concepts of Value: Planning Building and Responding to New Urban Realities” report here: http://bit.ly/Cityquest2015
Find out more about Cityquest at www.cityquest.net

Press contact:
Hannah Rothschild
Communications Coordinator
New Cities Foundation
hrothschild@newcitiesfoundation.org
 33 7 82 94 34 89

About KAEC

King Abdullah Economic City is one of the largest and most important private sector initiatives in the Middle East. Strategically located on the coast of the Red Sea in the north of Jeddah, KAEC is being developed into a fully integrated city with a capacity to host a population of two million people when completed.

The city’s Industrial Valley has succeeded in attracting more than 100 national and international industrial companies, of which half are either  operational or under construction. The King Abdullah Port, which commenced  operations in January, 2014, be the largest port by capacity on the Red Sea by the end of 2016 twith the ability to handle 4.5 million TEUs per year. The city’s Haramain Railway district and station will connect with Jeddah and King Abdulaziz International Airport in less than 30 minutes and Makkah and Al Madinah within one hour. KAEC’s residential districts are supported by a high quality infrastructure and a complete range of services and facilities such as the World Academy School, along with a medical center for primary care and emergency operated by Dr. Soliman Fakeeh Hospital Company, KAEC represents one of the most innovative public private partnerships around the world and is the flagship of the Saudi government’s economic cities program.

www.kaec.net
Twitter: @kaec_saudi

About the New Cities Foundation

The New Cities Foundation is an independent non-profit organization whose mission is to shape a better urban future for all. The Foundation conducts pragmatic research on solutions to challenges facing cities, launches initiatives to drive urban progress, and builds, empowers, and convenes a global network in support of its goals. The Foundation convenes the leading events on urban innovation, including the annual New Cities Summit. In all of its activities, the Foundation works with entrepreneurs and leaders from business, government, academia, civil society, the media and the arts. The Foundation was created in 2010 and is financed by its members and partners, which include some of the most forward-thinking companies who share a passion for the future of our cities. The Foundation is based in Geneva and its head office is in Montréal with smaller offices in Paris, New York, Hong Kong and Zurich.

www.newcitiesfoundation.org
Facebook: /NewCitiesFoundation
Twitter: @newcitiesfound

About Cityquest

Cityquest - KAEC Forum, launched in 2013 and jointly organized by the New Cities Foundation and King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), is the first ever global leadership exchange among key visionaries, partners and builders of the world’s largest and most innovative new city projects. The annual Forum’s chief objective is to generate cohesive strategies for making these cities of the future a sustainable success.

This report draws on insight from Cityquest speakers and participants, including new city developers Stan Gale, Gale International and Fahd Al Rasheed, Managing Director and Group CEO, King Abdullah Economic City; renowned architect Asif Khan of Asif Khan Studio; future transport leaders such as Dirk Ahlborn, CEO, Hyperloop Transportation and Greg Lindsay, Senior Fellow, Connected Mobility Initiative, New Cities Foundation; as well as innovators such Koen Olthuis, Founder, Water Studio and Francois Grosse, Founder, ForCity.

Cityquest is further strengthened by the Impact-KAEC Challenge: http://www.newcitiesfoundation.org/impactkaec-fellowship/

Access the report from the 2015 event: http://bit.ly/Cityquest2015

www.cityquest.net
Twitter: @newcitiesfound #Cityquest

Tags:

Saudi Arabia Non-Profit John Rossant New Cities Foundation Cityquest new cities KAEC Cityquest - KAEC Forum Iskandar Malaysia Jazan Economic City Kabul New City Lavasa Rawabi Value Building Alamein New City Cyberjaya Economic City of Egypt Konza Technology City Mohammed VI Green City Sejong Songdo Sri City Tatu City Yachay Knowledge City Impact KAEC Challenge

Quotes

“The success of the Cityquest initiative has positioned King Abdullah Economic City firmly at the center of the global strategic dialogue around new city building. This report emphasizes the imperative to create modern, livable spaces combining intelligent use of technology, affordable residential properties, universal educational opportunities and a robust economic ecosystem, to meet the growing global demand for urban infrastructure.”
Fahd Al-Rasheed, Group CEO and Managing Director of KAEC
“There are unparalleled opportunities for experimentation and innovation in these new cities. New cities everywhere have a lot in common. The Cityquest – KAEC Forum is a unique opportunity for leaders in this field to share knowledge. While building a new city is an enormous challenge and faces many critics, the ongoing conversation from the 2015 Forum strengthens the foundations for the developments to come.”
John Rossant, Founder and Chairman of the New Cities Foundation