I had the great opportunity to participate in a panel at the ULI Asia Pacific Summit 2012 about a month ago in Beijing. There, we looked at how the issues of sustainable urban solutions impact business plans and investment decisions.

Looking back at our discussion, integration is critical to the success of different phases of urban development. From the beginning, developers have to have clear parameters to work with so that they can integrate green initiatives into their projects and price them accordingly. The Government / Governing body will need to have a structured long-term vision under which the rest of the projects will work within, a strategic plan to phase these projects out, and, most importantly, an integrated planning and execution division that lessen the investors’ uncertainties and empower developers to follow through with projects. Nowhere else in the world is this concept of the integration as important as it is in Asia where we are seeing both tremendous economic growth, urbanization, as well as challenges posed by infrastructure demands and cultural conservation. I believe that Asia can be a role model to the rest of the world, proving that these difficult problems can be addressed in practical and meaningful ways.

I was pleased to meet so many new members and reconnect with old friends at the summit in Beijing. Through the summit, we discussed, dissected and developed a number of important insights, which will contribute to our goal of supporting thriving and sustainable communities. It is because of these invaluable insights that I look forward to next year’s Summit where I hope we can push our ideas to a new level. In the meantime, I also hope we can continue working hard and improving our ideas to ensure that the next time we meet, we can share more perspectives on how to develop a more sustainable world.

Best regards,
Raymond Chow
Chairman, ULI North Asia