Muscat – To highlight the importance of urban planning for prosperous communities, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning (MHUP) kicked off a two-day event called October Urban Planning Forum 2022 on Monday at Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The forum aims to enhance the economic, social and health dimensions of humanising cities, raise awareness of climate change and its impact on planning, facilitate exchange of global experiences and expertise, review the sustainability goals set in Oman Vision 2040.

The forum includes four themes with more than ten speakers presenting more than 14 research papers in the areas of sustainable quality of life for prosperous communities, urban planning and risk management, regional development projects, and planning and spatial nature.

The forum has several accompanying events, the most important of which was the signing of a trilateral cooperation on the first day between MHUP, the Environment Authority and Muscat Municipality on tree planting in residential neighbourhoods in Muscat governorate which is part of the authority’s ongoing initiative to plant 10mn wild trees in a ten-year period which started in January 2020.

An Urban Planning Hackathon targeting final year undergraduate students and fresh graduates of architecture and design majors was also held to facilitate their ideas and concepts for urban planning.

MHUP will also organise urban planning debates targeting school students to gauge their awareness and knowledge of urban planning, the reality of urbanisation as well as understand their aspirations related to urban strategy.