Pedro Ortiz is a former politician of the Spanish government, serving from 1987-1999. He was mayor of the Salamanca District in Madrid from 1989-1991.
Pedro spearheaded Madrid’s 1996 Regional Plan, which is based on his groundbreaking methodology of metropolitan development that addresses long-range explosive growth. The “CiTiMethod” has been applied to many other metropolises throughout the world, including those in Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East.
Pedro joined the World Bank in 2010 and currently consults on how to combat the fact that more than 50 percent of the world’s population now lives in cities. Annual growth in many areas is between 4 and 6 percent, causing explosive growth, which if not confronted, will lead to uncontrollable slums with inhabitants incapable of competing in the global economy.
McGraw-Hill will publish his book, “The Art of Shaping the Metropolis,” in October 2013.
Urban Evolution or Intelligent Design?
Traditionally, urban centers have grown around specific need: sustenance, trade and commerce, manufacturing, governance. Today, cities evolve around centers of critical information. How do you build a city for the 21st century? Should conventional urban specialization continue? Or do we need to start examining the opportunities posed by letting the urban garden run wild? Jennifer Bradley of the Brookings Institution, Justin Fox of the Harvard Business Review, Gabriella Gómez-Mont of the City Laboratory of Mexico City, the World Bank's Pedro Ortiz, and Columbia University's Saskia Sassen discuss. Watch video and read the complete transcript here.
Conferences
Techonomy 13
A new society is coming into being. People around the world are building it using the rapidly-evolving tools of technology.
