“A good city has everything” by Mark Brearley, urban planner (Solvay Library, 18.02.2019)
Mark is passionate about urban manufacturing. For years, he has been one of the most renowned advocates of the importance of industry in the city. Through his courses at the prestigious Metropolitan University of London, at the service of the London Mayor’s team between 2001 and 2013 and during the many seminars, courses and lectures he gives all over the world, he has consistently advocated the importance of the diversity of functions and the integration of productive activities into the urban fabric.
In his inaugural lesson, Mark Brearley invites us all to get involved in making our cities more capable of welcoming a fully diversified economy. Beyond the references to London, where he lives, Mark Brearley returns to the case of Brussels, a city that he willingly describes as a miracle given its rich and diverse urban fabric and its corresponding business life. The conference calls for an accelerated overhaul of development policies to allow industry to continue to occupy a place in the mix of urban functions, and to revitalize major commercial arteries.
His speech highlights the individuals and organisations that are already committed to developing the city’s economic fabric in such a way as to place Brussels at the forefront of major cities in transformation.