Mayors and leaders from world’s leading cities will meet in Abu Dhabi next month aiming to determine factors for successful urban living over the next 10 to 100 years.

The fourth edition of the international forum entitled Global City 2009 will take place at the Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi from April 7 to 8.

A high-profile set of municipal leaders from the world’s top cities including Seoul, Lyon, Paris, Mumbai, Beijing, Jeddah, Riyadh and San Francisco will participate in the mayors panel of Global City 2009, taking place in the Middle East for the first time.

“Economic progress has moved faster than our awareness of the environment around us. However several events in the recent past have alerted us to the risks our environment faces,” said Patrick Devedjian, minister responsible for economic stimulus plan, France and president of the World Business Districts Network for sustainable development.

“Previously, business districts did not successfully integrate sustainability into their developmental policies. But in the future, business districts have to become an alternative model of society by laying strong emphasis on sustainability.'

Dr J M Phatak, municipal commissioner of Mumbai, said: “In recent years many cities around the world have experienced unprecedented growth and revival in infrastructure, tourism, industry, service or residential projects.

“However, this wave of development is not always in keeping with the core nature of our cities and could lead to long-term concerns such as sprawl and congestion.”

“Over the long-term, positioning our cities as ideal destinations for residents, businesses and visitors is a top priority for city leaders and I look forward to the solutions and insights that Global City will offer,” he added.

“Earlier, cities evolved over centuries, whereas now, they have to rapidly adapt to coping with expanding population and the overall fast pace of development,” said Frederic Theux, president, Reed Exhibitions Middle East, organisers of Global City 2009.

“Perhaps at no other time in history has there been as much pressure on cities to compete to be hubs for business, culture, lifestyle and living. We expect the mayors’ panel to be a useful guide to best practices and future solutions for the region’s urban planners.”

Global City 2009 will also host a “Leaders’ Summit”, a collaborative platform for new ideas and thinking on mobility patterns in modern cities. The closed-door summit is organised in partnership with the French Forum for Urban Management and the City on the Move Institute.

“Mobility of citizens, goods and information has strongly influenced city development over the years,” said Ludovica Sarram, conference manager, Reed Exhibitions Middle East, quoting the example of elevators paving the way for skyscrapers and trams allowing the creation of the first suburbs.

“Similarly, information technology will play a strong role in defining mobility patterns in the 21st century,” added Sarram.

Other highlights of the Global City 2009 programme include keynote sessions by Saskia Sassen, Robert S. Lund Professor of Sociology at Columbia University, USA and Richard Florida, City Guru and Founder of advisory services firm, Creative Class Group.

The conference will also highlight the growth of innovative eco-neighbourhoods and discuss how the guiding principles of these eco-clusters can be applied to transforming entire cities.

Other sessions at Global City 2009 will focus on globalisation of the world’s sustainable cities, culture and immigration as drivers for a successful city, city branding, developing sustainable downtown areas, smart cities and public transport.

Reed Exhibitions will also organise specialised workshops at Global City 2009 on the array of business opportunities that are made available as cities pursue their sustainability agenda.