Yuliya Yakupbayeva: “The transition to sustainable urban development is not only a task for urban planners”

On December 2, the “Urbathon” forum of Kazakhstani urbanists took place, bringing together representatives of the regions, urban planners and city activists, transportation and greening experts, developers and builders. Yulia Yakupbayeva spoke at the plenary session “New Approaches to Territorial Development” on the topic “Green Urban as a New Strategy for Territorial Development.”

Yeraly Tugzhanov, Akim (Governor) of Aktobe Region, spoke about the processes of creating a transport hub and a transport corridor within the city, and noted the need to introduce green-economy principles and to build a safe and comfortable city.

“The development of the future agglomeration center as a future city of a million people is already reflected in the general development plan of Aktobe. Our task is to use modern concepts of city development aimed at raising standards. First and foremost, this means the quality of life of the residents of our region and the city of Aktobe,” emphasized Akim of Aktobe Region Yeraly Tugzhanov.

Yuliya Yakupbayeva, head of Green Urban, also stressed the importance of improving the urban environment in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which encourage creating favorable conditions and providing residents with access to energy-efficient housing, safe courtyards, streets and roads, spaces for leisure and sport, and an environmentally friendly and inclusive environment.

“Urban planning, in a digital sense, can very quickly change the quality of life in cities for the better. In this regard it is important to:

— scale up good examples;

— engage the population and businesses;

— provide state support to companies and territories that implement green standards, digital twins of territories, and best practices in sustainable development,” noted Yulia Yakupbayeva.

Kairat Kokenov, Chairman of the QazProperty association of management and service companies, gave a presentation on the role of commercial real estate in creating comfortable spaces within integrated area development.

“If we talk about global trends, we see medical clusters, tourism clusters, industrial, social and IT clusters being built. We need to think about this — what are the leading directions for each city, whom do we want to attract to this city, what kind of young people, what kind of business people. And for that we need to create specific zones and territories,” noted Kairat Kokenov.

The speakers noted that Kazakhstan has already taken the following steps toward the development of its territories:

• A community of urban planners has been formed.
• A National ESG Club has been established.
• A set of Standards for Integrated Territorial Development has been prepared.
• Successful case studies by companies and local administrations (akimats) on the sustainable development of parks, embankments and residential areas have been accumulated.
• The “People’s Participation Budget” program has been launched.
• A number of universities have begun training specialists in urban planning.

Yuliya Yakupbayeva also announced the upcoming Green Urban Community award “Best Space to Live,” which will be held under the auspices of the National ESG Club in July 2023.

Speakers of the plenary session “New Approaches to Territorial Development”: Deputy Minister of Industry and Infrastructure Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan Almaz Ydyrysov; Akim of Aktobe Region Yeraly Tugzhanov; Chairman of the “Kazakhstani Association of Urbanists Q-88” public association Yerlan Aukenov; Yuliya Yakupbayeva, Partner of the GPI group of companies, head of Green Urban and member of the presidium of the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs “Atameken”; Chairwoman of Otbasy Bank JSC Lyazzat Ibragimova; urbanist and architect Arkady Gershman; Chairman of the QazProperty association of management and service companies Kairat Kokenov, and others.

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The “Urbathon” forum brought together more than 1,000 participants and over 30 speakers. The forum was organized by Aktobe Region, the “Q88” community of Kazakhstani urbanists, and QazUrban.