The Sixth International Forum On Urban Competitiveness
El Colegio de México
Center for Demographic, Urban and Environmental Studies
National Council of Science and Technology
Global Urban Competitiveness Project
SIXTH INTERNATIONAL FORUM ON URBAN COMPETITIVENESS:
POSITION OF MEXICO IN THE GLOBAL CONTEXT
Presentation
Competitiveness has diverse interpretations about its definition and measurement due to its multifaceted nature. This refers to interrelations among its causes (or determinants), the process of competence itself (rivalry among economic units) and its consequences (effects in the macro and micro evolution). The economic performance of a territory has been linked to the socio-economic evolution of its population, therefore a network is formed between success in the insertion to global markets and the improvement of life conditions.
The concept of urban competitiveness has also been subject of controversy. Some specialists state that competence occur among enterprises, then cities do not compete with each other but act only as location spaces for those productive units. On the opposite side, others support the pertinence of the urban competitiveness concept and define it as the capacity of cities to attract productive investment; such as change in their economic position in the national or international urban system, or even as the interrelation between the local economic performance and other social, political and environmental manifestations of the urban life.
In this sense, the Global Urban Competitiveness Project (GUCP) is a group of academics coming from the United States, Canada, Mexico, Great Britain, Italy, The Netherlands, China, Hong Kong and South Korea, dedicated to the scholarly study of urban competitiveness and the ways in which this knowledge can be of assistance to urban, national and international leaders in planning strategically the economic futures of their cities.
The academics that form the GUCP are: 1) Peter Kresl (President, Bucknell University, United States); 2) Ni Pengfei (General Secretary, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences); 3) Mark Brown (Canadian Regional Science Association, Canada); 4) Pierre-Paul Proulx (Université de Montréal and Université du Québec a Montréal, Canada); 5) Jaime Sobrino (El Colegio de Mexico, Mexico); 6) William Lever (University of Glasgow, Great Britain); 7) Leo Van de Berg (Erasmus University, Holland); 8) Stefano Mollica (Associazione Italiana Incontri e Studi sullo Sviluppo Locale, Italia); 9) Jianfa Shen (University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong); 10) Dong-Sung Cho (Seoul National University, South Korea), and 11) Antonio Serrano (Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, Mexico).
GUCP considers that the urban competitiveness refers to the degree to which a city, or urban region, in comparison with other “competing” cities, is able to attract productive investment that provide the jobs, income, cultural and recreational amenities, degree of social cohesion, governance and urban environment to which is current and targeted new residents aspire.
The diffusion of studies of this group has been possible through the organization of international forums in which research progress of the members of the GUCP, studies about the state of the territorial competitiveness of their country, and public sector experiences for territorial competitiveness have been presented. The first forum took place in 2004 in China; the second was in 2005 in Ottawa, Canada; the third occurred in 2006 in Chengdu, China; the fourth was in Seoul, South Korea in 2007; the fifth was in Yangzhou, China, in July 2008, and the sixth forum was held in Mexico City in November, 2008.
Objective
The general purpose of the Sixth Forum was to know and discuss theoretical perspectives, empirical studies and formulation and implementation experiences of public policy that help in understanding the competitive performance of Mexican cities in the international context; this would be the base to propose recommendations, both to enrich research and to improve comprehension of public policy actions necessary for the urban competitiveness of Mexico.
This forum was organized by El Colegio de Mexico, with the financial support of the National Council of Science and Technology.
Program
The Sixth Forum of Urban Competitiveness took place at El Colegio de Mexico, on November 20th and 21st, 2008. It was structured in four discussion tables.
November 20
10:00-10:30
Opening ceremony
Manuel Ordorica (General Secretary, El Colegio de México)
José Luis Lezama (Director of the Center for Demographic, Urban and Environmental Studies, El Colegio de México)
Peter Kresl (President, Global Urban Competitiveness Project)
Table 1
Theoretical elements to understand urban competitiveness
Chair: Martha Schteingart (El Colegio de Mexico)
Peter Kresl (Bucknell University)
Urban competitiveness: a review of theory and practice
José de Jesús Sosa (Secretaría de la Función Pública)
Local governments and urban competitiveness
Leo Van de Berg (Erasmus University)
Urban competitiveness and sustainable territorial development: the need for new perspectives on metropolitan governance
Gustavo Garza (El Colegio de México)
The city as a productive force: economic development and competitiveness
Table 2
Empirical instruments of urban competitiveness
Chair: María Eugenia Negrete (El Colegio de México)
Antonio Serrano (Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua)
Factors not considered in measuring urban competitiveness
Ni Pengfei (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)
Global urban competitiveness report, 2007-2008. How about Mexican cities?
Nelson Manzano (Universidad Mayor de San Simón, Bolivia)
Urban competitiveness among Latin American metropolitan areas
Jaime Sobrino (El Colegio de México)
NAFTA and urban competitiveness
Enrique Cabrero (Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas)
Isela Orihuela (Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas)
Alicia Ziccardi (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México)
Urban competitiveness in Mexico: the new agenda for urban municipalities
November 21
Table 3
Policies for urban competitiveness
Chair: Valentín Ibarra (El Colegio de México)
Laura Velázquez (Gobierno del Distrito Federal)
Policies and instruments for the competitiveness of Mexico City
Pierre-Paul Proulx (Unitvesité de Montréal and Université du Québec a Montréal)
Public policies and city growth in Canada
Dong-Sung Cho (Seoul National University)
Adel Alfalasi (Dubai Competitiveness Council)
Dubai’s city competitiveness
Alejandro Páez (Gobierno del Estado de Nuevo León)
Experiences for the competitive promotion of Monterrey, Mexico
Table 4
Challenges and prospective on urban competitiveness
Chair: Vicente Ugalde (El Colegio de México)
Stefano Mollica (Associazione Italiana Incontri e Studi sullo Sviluppo Locale)
Marco Luccini (Associazione Italiana Incontri e Studi sullo Sviluppo Locale)
Prospects on competitiveness and regional development in Italy
Adrián Moreno (Consejo Potosino de Ciencia y Tecnología)
The role of technological innovations in the territorial competitiveness
Alejandro Dávila (Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila)
Xanin García Posada (Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila)
Indicators about the efficiency of the electronic cluster in Mexico
Clemente Ruiz Durán (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México)
The future of urban competitiveness in the global world
According with the presentations, three key aspects can be said. First that urban competitiveness is a process evolving different events of the urban life (economic growth, quality of life, governance, environment and sustainable development); these processes can be analyzing by diverse theoretical approaches, and the benchmarking point of view is an interesting perspective. Second that in the performance of a city in the competitive play, its scale (population size) is still very important versus the use of those competitive advantages related with quality (public-private deals; local government actions; private accords). And third that exercises for ranking urban competitiveness are a very useful tool for national and local governments, in order to formulate their strategic plans to promote economic development.
photo of particpants
The aim is to publish a book with the papers; this book will appear during the second term of 2009. With this book, the GUCP will be added, in order to advance in the comprehensive view for urban competitiveness along the world.
GUCP wish to thanks to El Colegio de Mexico for all their help in the organization of the forum, and also to the National Council of Science and Technology, the Mexican institute who gave the financial support.
The Seventh Forum on Urban Competitiveness will be in Philadelphia, United States, in April 2009.