World Cities Day

The "Green City, Green People" panel aims to show the relationship between infrastructure and "soft" activities regarding the subject of green cities. We want to show how not only the city policy, but also the responsibility of the residents themselves and their daily decisions affect the implementation of pro-ecological goals. Despite the magnitude of the need for sustainable investment in cities, much is already being made, inter alia owing to EU funding. It turns out that more and more also depends on how the residents will want to get involved. We want to show the experience of an individual user in contact with the idea of a green city. For example, someone has switched from a car to a bicycle and this way commutes to work every day. Or instead of spending time with one’s family on weekends shopping, joins the idea of a circular economy and organizes a garage sale. The essence is to show that the green idea of a green city is / can be a personal experience of each resident.

In addition, during the panel we want to talk about the World Urban Forum (WUF11) which will be held in Katowice, Poland in 2022 and our initiative related to WUF11 – Action Plan for Cities.

Topics for discussion:

• how can national policies help cities in getting "greener"?
• what is the idea of a green city (not only infrastructure, but also green skills)?
• why is the role of residents so important?
• how to encourage residents to implement the idea of a green city?
• does the implementation of the idea of a green city look different from the perspective of various groups of residents, e.g. young people, seniors, people with disabilities?
• let's talk about money, which means why is it profitable for cities to go green?

Moderator:

• Karolina Thel, Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy of Poland

Panelists:

• M. Jarosińska – Jedynak, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy, Government Plenipotentiary for World Urban Forum in Katowice in 2022, Poland
• Marcin Krupa, Mayor of Katowice, Poland 
• Åsa Jonsson - Chief (a.i) Strategic Monitoring and Reporting Unit, UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme)
• Katarzyna Smętek – World Urban Forum Youth Council
• Professor Iwona Sagan – Head of Department of Socio-Economic Geography, University of Gdańsk, Poland
• Karol Janas – Head of the City Observatory, Institute of Urban and Regional Development, Poland