The Belize City Council partnered with the Belize Association of Planners and the Caribbean Network for Urban Land Management to host the seventh annual Caribbean Urban Forum (CUF 7) in Belize City at the Radisson Fort George Hotel, on May 17th – 19th, 2017.
The Caribbean Urban Forum (CUF) is designed to address specific policy issues within the Caribbean urban sector by bringing together land use practitioners, policy makers, academics and allied professionals interested in enhancing urban planning and management in the Region.
The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) was invited to participate in the Urban Expo, scheduled for days two and three, May 18th & 19th, of the CUF at the Memorial Park in Belize City, under the theme ‘Green Economy, Energy and Space-Pathways to Urban Sustainability.‘
Dr. Cassandra Rogers, Country Representative of the Inter-American Development Bank, expressed her desire to see “cities growing in a very smart and sustainable way.”
“The Belize City Council and IDB’s Action Plan involves critical investments to solve some of the development issues that were identified in the vulnerability studies. [We are planning] sustainable cities that are resilient to natural disasters and climate change”, states Dr. Rogers.
Deputy Mayor of Belmopan City, Ralston Frazer, encouraged all in attendance to work together and join the group that is not doing the talking but doing the work.
He stated, “We have the responsibility to make this place as beautiful as we can make it in, so that we can have appreciation for it. Urban planners make cities beautiful and orderly.”
Mayor Darrell Bradley of Belize City emphasized that with the right partnerships, we can build the kind of communities that we want to see.
“Urban planning is a means of promoting cities that offers opportunities at the highest level… Climate change is the reason our lands are eroding, climate change is the reason our sea does the abundance of marine life it once had. We want to build a Belize that fosters sustainable growth and develop and one resilient to climate change.”
Peruse photo album of the Caribbean Urban Forum’s Expo here: