Deni Ruggeri, UO assistant professor of landscape architecture, has been invited to speak at the final conference “New Medina: from Pilot Towns to Sustainable Cities” in Morocco from June 9-13. The consortium is the culmination of a multiyear project that assembles experts and stakeholders to share planning strategies for the creation of sustainable “new towns” in Morocco, Algeria, and Egypt.

New Medina aims to develop an integrated approach of sustainable new towns in the South-Mediterranean and to strengthen local teams’ capacities through the sharing of best practices panels of experts, workshops, and publications between Europe and Africa. Ruggeri will join colleagues from partner countries in drafting the final recommendations, which will be presented later this summer at a meeting of the European Union.

In 2012, Ruggeri served as academic expert for the project. His role included making recommendations to the Algerian government on “the integration of sustainable practices in the planning of the new town of Sidi Abdellah, Algeria, including the preservation of topsoil in agricultural landscapes, the on-site treatment of stormwater through landscape infrastructure, and a stronger place identity,” he said.

The conference will also serve as the official book launch of New Medinas: Towards Sustainable New Towns, to which Ruggeri contributed a chapter. His chapter is entitled “A Traveling Concept: The New Town Ideal from Howard’s Garden City to Today’s Ecocity.” The book, edited by Pascaline Gaborit, is published by Peter Lang.

Above: Assistant Professor Deni Ruggeri

Ruggeri’s chapter is an excursus of the evolution of the new town concept. “It highlights similarities and differences, and makes a case for the role of open space and the landscape as a resource for their long-term resilience, self-sufficiency, and community identity,” he said.

“New Medina: from Pilot Towns to Sustainable Cities” is one of twenty-one projects of the CIUDAD program (Cooperation in Urban Development And Dialogue) [http://www.ciudad-programme.eu/] launched by the European Commission. The project’s main themes have been: sustainable development and energy efficiency; economic development and reduction of social disparities; and good governance, long-term development, and urban planning.

With a budget of just under $1 million, the project is comprised of these European and North African new towns: Marne-la-Vallée Val Maubué (France), leader of the project; El Shrouk, near Cairo (Egypt); Sidi Abdellad, near Alger (Algeria); and the city of Chrafate, near Tangier (Morocco). The Lazio region in Italy, the European New Towns Platform (ENTP), network of 32 European New Towns, and the association Touiza Solidarité based in Marseilles are part of the project as well.

Above: Ruggeri contributed a chapter to New Medinas: Towards Sustainable New Towns, which launches during the conference in Morocco. His chapter is entitled “A Traveling Concept: The New Town Ideal from Howard’s Garden City to Today’s Ecocity.” The book is published by Peter Lang. Click the image above to view a larger version.