Innovative City Forum inspires again at Roppongi Hills

Each year, the Innovative City Forum comes to Roppongi Hills, bringing with it the opportunity to hear speeches from and share thoughts with some of the world's most brilliant, creative minds. It's a wonderful event that never fails to inspire, and this year I was able to catch some of the key note addresses on the first day. 

I was particularly fascinated by Daan Roosegaarde's speech on "Landscapes of the Future." A Dutch artist and innovator, Roosegaarde said that he is on a mission for clean air, water and energy, and that he and his team at Studio Roosegarde explore ways in which we can use cities to live with nature. As a city dweller myself with a deep appreciation for nature and a deserve to protect our natural resources, I was very interested in this concept.

Roosegarde described projects that he and his team have implemented, such as a festival called Waterlicht, which uses lights to show people in the Netherlands where the water level would be if not for the innovation that keeps the city dry. He also talked about towers that clean the surrounding air in cities around the world. The carbon byproduct is used to make rings, which are then sold to build more towers, making the project self-sustaining. 

"True beauty is clean air, clean water, clean energy, and a city that is good for you," Roosegaarde said. 

The next challenge Studio Roosegarde hopes to tackle is that of space waste - finding a way to clean up the 8.5 million kg of debris that is orbiting the Earth. 

"We need to transform from problems to potential, poetry to pragmatism," Roosegaarde said. I couldn't agree more.

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