Harry Dobbs: Silk Road cities could become a model for 21st-century urbanization

Ancient cities of the Silk Road can serve as a source of ideas for building modern 21st-century service cities in Central Asia, stated by Harry Dobbs, founder and chief architect of Harry Dobbs Design, during WUF13, according to Report.

He said that modern projects for new cities in Central Asia cannot be viewed purely as technical or infrastructure initiatives, as they have a deep historical and cultural context.

Dobbs noted that a significant part of current urbanization in the region is effectively a return to the ancient trade and cultural links of the Silk Road.

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

He added that the development of Alatau will be built around transport and logistics corridors, including the China–West railway route.

"Today, technologies give us tools to address environmental, social, and technical challenges of urbanization in ways that did not exist before," the architect added.