“The great French Marshall Lyautey once asked his gardener to plant a tree. The gardener objected that the tree was slow growing and would not reach maturity for 100 years. The Marshall replied, 'In that case, there is no time to lose; plant it this afternoon!’” (John F. Kennedy)
The HKIP’s seed has been sown -- in May 2009, at the action-packed International Conference on Planning for Low Carbon Cities, held at the “Noah’s Ark”, jointly organised by the HKIP, the Urban Planning Society of China (UPSC) and with the Partner Organisations of the RTPI and Macao Institute of Urban Planning (MIUP).
The seeds have been sown in the minds of organisers and participants and whoever reads this blog and the papers from now on. It is late, but it is never too late, to strive to plan, design and build low carbon cities and respond collectively and intelligently to the aggravating global warming.
Thanks must of course go to all my colleague members who have thought out the meticulous year round action plans under this theme, so that things have moved on smoothly and continuously. In March, Planners of different generations sat closely together and shared their stories and experiences and have re-lived the memories of the city life of the 60s and 70s together in a Drama Night, through the creative performances of our talented young planners.
The Holiday Farmers created their patches and experimental scheme in an organic farm in Fanling, with “fruitful” results. Carrying on this year, the Community Outreach group will surprise us by bringing nature to us urbanites, but I am told not to release the plans yet. Let’s keep in view. We can nevertheless look forward most eagerly to the big bang of the grand Gala Dinner to be held on 29 October at the JW Marriott Hotel.
All that are being done will by no means simply dissipate after the big bang. The seeds should take root, grow and bloom. Whilst we will continue with planning and development, we learned to be less arrogant. After decades of rapid urbanisation and growth, we are learning and re-learning old wisdoms and new technologies about recycling, renewable energies, conservation and sustainable development. At this juncture of a critical tipping point in global environment, it’s a great challenge for an individual, whether one is a planner or otherwise.
Nevertheless, every little thing we do today, such as giving away a small seed, counts, especially as it carries with it a message. If I could turn the clock back by 30 years from today, I would still choose to become a town planner ! I would also be proud of being part of this team and able to share all these knowledge and experiences with you all in these events.
(P.Y. TAM)
President, HKIP
13 August 2009
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