WUF13: Ancient silk road cities could shape modern urbanisation

Ancient Silk Road cities could become a source of ideas for developing modern service-oriented cities in 21st-century Central Asia, Harry Dobbs, chief architect of Harry Dobbs Design, has stated during the World Urban Forum (WUF13) in Baku.

He said contemporary new-city projects in Central Asia cannot be viewed solely as technical or infrastructure initiatives, as they carry a deep historical and cultural context, Caliber.Az reports, citing local media.

Dobbs noted that a significant part of modern urbanisation in the region is effectively a return to the ancient trade and cultural connections of the Silk Road.

He also said that the new city project of Alatau in Kazakhstan is being considered as a culturally connected, “smart,” and integrated service city.

According to him, Alatau’s development will be structured around transport and logistics corridors, including the China–West railway route.

“Today, technology gives us tools to address environmental, social, and technical challenges of urbanisation in ways that were not possible before,” the architect added.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov