City greening solutions for arid environments

Rethinking city planning is key to accommodate the rise of populations in desert cities, estimated to be happening at a rate faster than in other cities. Desert cities are found on all continents, and they share concerns around water availability, urban heat island effects, and energy use.

This conference explores the strategies that cities in arid zones adopt to create liveable and efficient cities, putting the attenuating capacity of plants at the centre of city form and function. It is not just desert cities that are challenged by heat. The conference will extend the dialogue to cities in temperate regions that are bringing intelligent greening into city planning to reduce negative effects of changing climates in highly built environments.

Tuesday’s morning session introduces local programmes and initiatives that support greening of cities in arid environments, with reports from Earthna and GORD about their current focus and future ambitions. Also in the morning programme, we hear about strategies for rewilding in Arab cities, and a global initiative to coordinate and share innovative actions in arid cities.

In the afternoon session, speakers present their experiences with urban greening in other regions and cities. We also look forward to hearing about new technologies to monitor and report on urban greening progress.

On Wednesday, guests will have time in the morning at Expo 2023 Doha, followed by afternoon visits to key sites within the Doha municipality that showcase living green.