New York City has clinched Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize for its urban renewal plan, making it the second city to win the award, Singapore’s planning agency announced on Wednesday.
Award organisers praised New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his administration for reinventing the city in the time since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001 through strong leadership and community participation.
“New York has emerged from a city in adversity to a city in continuous advance,” said Keppel Corporation chief executive Choo Chiau Beng. The Keppel Corporation sponsors the S$300,000 prize, which will be awarded at Singapore’s World Cities Summit from 1 to 4 July.
Mayor Bloomberg said the award affirmed his vision for the city as a global leader of sustainable development.
“We hope that our story helps inspire other city leaders to promote economic growth by fostering a culture of freedom and innovation,” he added.
New York stood out from the other 61 nominations for the prize because of its PlaNYC 2007, a long-term urban plan that integrates the efforts of city agencies, businesses and community groups to develop a liveable, environmentally friendly city by 2030.
The judges highlighted key efforts by the city’s Department of Transportation to improve the transportation network, including a more efficient bus system and the addition of 450 kilometres of bicycle lanes since 2007.
Kudos also went to the Departments of City Planning and Parks and Recreation for transforming wasted space and unused industrial sites into new parks, public areas and new developments.
In the last 10 years, the city has added 283 hectares of new, outdoor public space with the result that 84 per cent of New Yorkers currently live within a 10 minute walk of a park.
One of its most notable new parks is the High Line on the city’s west side. Built on a disused, elevated rail track that was once slated for demolition, the park is owned by the city but community-funded and operated. Two out of three sections of the park have been open to the public since June 2011.
Two-thirds of the 127 initiatives outlined in PlaNYC, which is required law to be reviewed every four years, are on schedule or ahead of time, noted the statement.
The plan, which has a long-term goal of reducing the city’s carbon emissions from 2005 levels by 30 per cent, has resulted in a 13 per cent reduction in carbon emissions so far.
The Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize was launched in 2009 by Singapore land-use planning agency Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and the government-initiated Centre for Liveable Cities. Held every two years, the awards showcase cities that are creating vibrant and environmentally sustainable urban communities.
Six cities earned special mentions from the judges. They included Ahmedabad in India, Cape Town in South Africa, Brisbane in Australia, Copenhagen in Denmark, Malmo in Sweden, and Vancouver in Canada.
Chairman of the prize nominating committee, Kishore Mahbubani of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy said: “The City of New York is an inspiring story of urban rejuvenation. With bold vision, strong leadership, sheer determination, and excellent partnership between government and citizens, there is now a new sense of direction in the city.”
Professor Mahbubani added that New York had regained its perch as “one of the most exciting cities in the world”.
