Vienna wins Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize

[SINGAPORE] Vienna was on Monday (Mar 14) named the winner of the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize 2020.

Jointly organised by Singapore's Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and Centre for Liveable Cities and sponsored by Keppel Corporation, this biennial award recognises outstanding contributions towards the creation of vibrant, liveable and sustainable urban communities.

The Austrian capital will be awarded the prize during the World Cities Summit in Singapore, to be held from Jul 31 to Aug 3.

The jury citation for the prize stated that Vienna is lauded for "reinventing itself for success in the 21st century without losing its distinctive identity as a capital of culture, music and history". It has also taken on a leading role in addressing the global challenges of climate change.

For instance, the Urban Development Plan of Vienna has set out plans to create more open and green spaces that can contribute to the reducing of the Urban Heat Island effect - where urban areas in the city become hotter than rural areas.

It also adopted a series of flood-protection measures since 1884, including the construction of a 21 km flood bypass channel in 1989 called New Danube. It acts as a closed body of water for recreational activities and a public park during non-flood times.

To create new infrastructure and affordable housing choices, the city has started urban redevelopment projects in Aspern Seestadt and Nordbahnhof. In these new urban centres, residents can walk or cycle to workplaces and recreation nodes by active mobility networks, or take affordable public transport options such as the metro, trams and buses.

Currently, 28 per cent of residents walk, 38 per cent use public transport, 7 per cent cycle, while the remaining 27 per cent use motorised transport.

Vienna also encourages its people to participate in development processes, such as by having platforms for its citizens to shape public spaces. For example, the Neighbourhood Oasis is a ground-up initiative that transforms parking lanes into "parklets" - a place for the community to interact.

Dr Cheong Koon Hean, chairman of the prize nominating committee, said: "Even as the world faces a climate emergency, Vienna is an exemplar of responsible environmental stewardship for its region."

Vienna's mayor Michael Ludwig said he is proud and grateful for Vienna's win. "We will continue on our consistent path of high quality of life for everyone through social and technical innovation in all areas, while maximising conservation of resources and thus resume to be a reliable partner for others," he added.

Special mentions were awarded to three other cities - Antwerp in Belgium, Boston in the United States and Lisbon in Portugal.

THE STRAITS TIMES