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MATIEU LEFEVRE: If people think they are heard, then they will tell you they care. I believe that people care immensely about their city. But how much they are listened to and how much their voices are heard is really an important topic and a changing feature in cities. I think the participatory city is here and that's a really exciting development.
WIM ELFRINK: As a citizen you will get more and more influence on what the city is and a participatory type democracy. Use open data to involve citizens. In the past it was - and we were very nervous - that big brother would watch us. We as citizens will start watching big brother. So the participation and the interaction between all parties - government, private, industry and citizens - you can determine the future of your city.
DANIEL LIBESKIND: The city is not owned by authorities! It's not owned by power. It's owned by people. Without giving stake to the people the city becomes just an anomalous transitional hotel. So I think to call a city not just a house but a home of people is to make it a home and we know what a home is. A home is a fulfillment, a home is a family, a home is a family of humanity. Between where you have no power and empowerment which is rare there is this zone where your powerlessness becomes complex.
SASKIA SASSEN: The city is a space where those without power can make history. If those without power are on a plantation they cannot make history. Their lack of power is elementary. In the city, it is not as if they get empowered, not always - really. But I like that in-between space where your powerlessness becomes complex. And in that complexity lies the possibility of making a politics, making a history, making a building, making a neighborhood, making a city.
MICHAEL KEITH: I think we should care for two reasons. One is our present and another is our future. Possible a third if we treasure our past. We inherit a heritage of rich city life across the globe. At the same time, we have the obligation to make the best of what we have for today and we have obligations to our children. We have obligations to the people that are yet to arrive in the city either because they haven't been born yet, or they haven't moved. We know the city population of the globe is growing by millions every month. And that population who are moving to the city have a right to see the city as their future as much as the people living there today.
CARLOS ARANHA: People should take care of the city, if they don't like the idea of collective living they should not be living in a city. The more you isolate yourself, the more you need to rethink your role in the city. People should care about the city because it is a place for everyone who lives, visits or is just passing through. We have the wrong tendency to think something that is public doesn't belong to us. This is absurd because it is precisely the opposite - something that is public is something that belongs to all of us and all of us should take care of parks, streets, sidewalks and the behavior of people. Because we coexist and live together in a space called the city.
ANIL MENON [04:12 OUT 04:57 ] They say when you take the boy out of Bombay, you still cannot take Bombay out of the boy. Same thing about New York, same thing about London - that emotional connection to a city is still important for the most obvious reason which is belongingness. Second one is cities are going to continue as engines of economic growth and so cities matter for those reasons. And the third is - cities are where creativity emerges because of diversity and cosmopolitan environments. So I do believe cities are important, we need to give attention to the cities. Unfortunately for the last hundred years we haven't given enough importance to cities. We have an unnatural and incorrect fixation with rural areas and with farming. And now in the 22nd century and 21st century will hopeful be about the cities and making cities truly global and truly livable.