Department of Urban Development, Taipei City Government

Deputy Mayor Chang has personally invited Deputy Mayor Roland Blum, Professor Michel Herrou from Charge de cours au Conservatoire national des arts et métiers, and Professor Jean-Claude Croize from Paris School of Architecture, to Taipei City Hall for a meeting exchange. During the meeting, Deputy Mayor Chang affirmed that through the policy changes and urban renewal process, Marseille had greatly flourished. He expressed that Taipei City can learn from this successful experience in order to face the global challenge and to promote urban regeneration policy.
Deputy Mayor Blum introduced that Marseilles is the second biggest city in France. It flourished during the 1970s in the 20th Century. Marseille was the most important seaport that was rich in resources. It had considerable amount of industrial and commercial development during that time and served as the oil-refining and industrial center. Previously the city had gone through urban decline and urban decay due to economic depression. However, through law enforcement and urban regeneration plans, Marseille has once again prospered under such influences. Deputy Mayor Blum stressed that the urban regeneration of Marseilles not only emphasized on old housing renewal but also focused on the overall urban regeneration and the urban cityscape preserving the local history and future development. During the meeting, Deputy Mayor Chang praised the successful story of Marseille due to its urban governance and regeneration plans. He also briefed about the experience of Taipei going through the urban regeneration process, stating that it is not just about dismantling the old buildings but to focus on the collaboration between the history and the future. What is more important is the element of “human” in the overall urban regeneration plan. He is eagerly promoting an even more globalized mode of doing things to transform Taipei into a more dynamic and multi-layered city. This way the residents of Taipei City will have more choices. He also hoped that through this governmental and academic exchange, we can learn more about the experience of urban regeneration from this French City.
The Urban Regeneration Office has expressed that other than sharing its Urban Governance and Urban Regeneration experience, Deputy Mayor Bloom has also been invited to be one of the speakers of the City Transformation- International Forum on Urban Regeneration: Taipei & France (Marseille & Lille). Through this international dialogue, it can alter that way we think about regeneration plans in Taipei City as well as to deepen the core values of urban renewal. This can improve the attractiveness, sustainability and the metropolitan competitiveness of Taipei City. For more information, please visit Village Taipei website (http://urstaipei.net/)