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The international seminar "Public Space - Problems and Possibilities" was organised by the Riga City Council, City Development Department in co-operation with the Union of the Baltic Cities (UBC), the Commission on Urban Planning and Design.
The main goal of the seminar was to discuss the issues of public space development in the city centre. During the seminar, a special attention was paid to the public space development issues of Riga City Historical Centre - its problems and opportunities. The seminar consisted of the plenary session work, as well as work in groups. A press conference was held within the framework of the seminar. Specialists from10 UBC cities presented a short overview dealing with public space development. Information on different activities and projects of the UBC and opportunities to participate in them was also disseminated during the seminar. Three main reports by invited lecturers were presented in the plenary session:
Representatives from 10 countries took part in the work of the seminar -Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, 31 cities were represented. The number of participants - about 80, among them - 43 foreign specialists.
Alongside with the work of the seminar, the Union of Baltic Cities Commission on Transportation met in Riga. While preparing these seminars, both commissions agreed that it would be worth-while to organise a joint session "The influence of Transportation Planning on the Creation of People Oriented Public Space". It laid the basis for a closer cooperation of various commissions in the future.
The seminar dealt with the issues and exchange of experience on the development of public space in relation to the working out of Riga City Historic Centre Preservation and Development Plan. The Work groups focused on various issues - from strategic solutions to very specific ones - role of the centre in the present and future life of the city, specific possible solutions for creating pedestrian streets, construction of the inner courtyards in the centre of the city, the development of green spaces in the historical centre, etc. Due to their professional experience, the participants of the Seminar gave an important contribution to the development of these themes - both in resolving strategic issues and by offering proposals for specific cases.
The future work and strategy of this commission was also discussed during the business meetings of the seminar. The commission has submitted the project proposal - "ABC - Alliance of Baltic Cities" for Interreg III B program, in order to enhance the efficiency of its work and draw in some funding for its future activities. The issues about the possible seminar of the Planning Commission in St. Petersburg this autumn were discussed as well. The Seminar attracted a broad interest of mass media, it was widely reflected in the press, radio and TV. For more information contact: Responsible
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