Tuesday 23 / April / 2024
Muscat: Under the patronage of His Highness Sayyid Shihab bin Tarik Al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for Defence Affairs, the “Urban October and the First Gulf Housing Week Conference” begins at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Center on Sunday. Organised by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning, the conference will be held under the slogan “Better City, Better Life,”.
This coincides with the most prominent annual event in the world in the urban planning sector, “October Urbanism,” and the “Gulf Housing Week,” to consolidate the importance of building better cities and enhancing the quality of life based on the sustainability of cities.
The 3-day conference seeks to achieve a set of planning goals to improve cities, urban and real estate life, develop the housing and real estate sector, enhance the sustainable urban economy, prepare a sustainable educational environment and enable environmental balance.
The conference will address four main topics: housing, urban planning, the future of school buildings, and city resilience. It will review more than 65 working papers in the field of urban planning, innovation and modern applications, urban economics, sustainable cities, real estate development, city resilience, environmental balance, and reducing the effects of climate change risks.
More than 60 prominent global and regional speakers will discuss community participation, the future of school buildings, planning policies and financial sustainability in the field of urban planning, in addition to the conference hosting
During the conference, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning, in cooperation and partnership with the Ministry of Education, will review 24 working papers under the theme “The Future of School Buildings,” the suitability of school building design, and the standards and requirements that must be met, in addition to the factors affecting the choice of school location and the extent of the impact of the environment on education of students.
The “October Urban Exhibition” will have more than 35 corners with local and Gulf participation, to showcase products, innovations and services in the housing and urban planning sector.
The “Gulf Urban Hackathon” will also be held in its first edition with the participation of Gulf youth who work in the field of urban planning, targeting teams and individuals interested in finding innovative solutions to urban challenges in the Sultanate of Oman.
On the sidelines of the conference, the results of the “Map Bank Competition,” which was launched last July with the participation of consulting offices and design offices, will be announced that aims to facilitate the service of Omani citizens within the housing assistance programme through designing and preparing integrated architectural engineering maps.
The conference and the accompanying exhibition are expected to witness a wide attendance exceeding 50,000 visitors and participants from various local, Gulf and international groups.
On the other hand, on Monday, a preparatory meeting will be held in Muscat for the housing agents in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, followed by the 21st meeting with housing affairs in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries on Tuesday.
