Competitive Cities Report

World Competitive Cities Congress
May 19-21, 1999 Washington DC

competitive cities summary report

The inaugural World Competitive Cities Congress (WCCC) convened decision-makers from the world’s largest cities, multinational corporations and multilateral institutions in the first major international forum dedicated to establishing and sharing best practice strategies that will allow cities to:

Highlights from the 1999 Congress
James Wolfensohn President, The World Bank

Compete in attracting and retaining national and international investment

Compete in the provision, pricing and quality of public services and utilities

Compete in the application and utilization of IT, the Internet and communications infrastructure

Compete in providing a skilled and educated labor-force

Ensure responsible and accountable civic and financial governance

Compete in terms of livability


		Klaus Toepfer Under Secretary General, HABITAT
		Mayor Anthony Williams Washington D.C.
		"Congratulations on an excellent Congress." -Mayor Anthony Williams, Washington D.C.

The WCCC showcased innovations in sustainable urban development that are providing long-term economic value in terms of increased profits for business, alleviation of poverty and stabilization of political and social conditions.

Over 175 Participants from
35 Countries:

RoundtablePFI01.JPG (21019 bytes)
Delegates engage
in roundtable discussions on the PFI with Adrian Montague of the UK Treasury Taskforce

Mayors and senior government decision-makers responsible for finance, planning, infrastructure and public services

Public utility executives

Infrastructure developers and operators

IT and communications technology and service providers

Investors and lenders including investment banks, funds and development agencies

Engineering contractors, technology providers and service companies

Public sector management advisors

Government agencies and NGOs

Multilateral and bilateral agencies

Rio-Kobe02.JPG (12253 bytes)
The Mayors of Kobe and Rio de Janeiro exchange points of view. Networking continued throughout the 3 days. 97% of the audience valued the Congress highly in our survey.

Keynote Speakers

James Wolfensohn, President, The World Bank

Klaus Toepfer, Under Secretary-General, United Nations Center for Human Settlements (HABITAT)

Adrian Montague, Chief Executive, UK Treasury Taskforce

Sir Peter Hall, Urban Expert & Author

Alice Rivlin, Vice Chair, United States Federal Reserve

Gerhard Schulmeyer, CEO, Siemens Corporation

Alexander Kulpecz, President, Azurix

Topics Rated Most Important by the Congress Audience

Water & Wastewater Infrastructure

Intelligent Cities and Information Infrastructure

Transportation Infrastructure

Political Arrangements & Accountability

Accessing Capital Markets

Attracting Investment and Businesses

Implementing IT and Internet Strategies

Outsourcing Management & Administration

Finance & Budget Management

Privatization of Utilities and Public Services

Featured Case Studies & Mayors

Bogota, Colombia – Mayor Enrigue Penalosa

Bonn, Germany - Sigurd Trommer, Chief Executive

Frankfurt, Germany – Albrecht Glaser, Deputy Mayor

Indianapolis, USA – Mayor Stephen Goldsmith

Johannesburg, RSA – Ketso Gordhan, City Manager

Kobe, Japan – Mayor Sasayama Kazutoshi

Manchester, UK – Tom Russell, Deputy Chief Executive

New York City, USA – Mark Page, General Counsel

Prague, Czech Rep – Mayor Jan Kasl

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Mayor Luiz Paulo Conde

Rotterdam, Netherlands – Hans Simons, Vice-Mayor

Singapore - Leong Keng Thai, Director General, Telecommunications Authority

Washington DC, USA – Mayor Anthony Williams

"This was a superb forum to promote dialogue between Cities. It was an excellent inaugural event and the dynamic of the event and the interactions indicate that next year's event will be something to really look forward to."

Angela Griffin
Leader of Urban Development Division
The World Bank

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