Newsletter «Zurich International»

Urban road safety is a global problem. Ever more people are living in cities, and all want mobility without accidents. While the city of Zurich has one of the safest transport systems in the world, road traffic in other cities, especially in developing countries, is the cause of an increasingly large number of serious injuries and deaths. The «Safer City Streets» network of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) invited the City of Zurich to a meeting in Rome to present the situation and measures taken in Zurich to 60 delegates from major cities around the world. Dr Wernher Brucks from the Traffic Section gave two talks. In one, he presented the entire process of road safety management in Zurich, from police accident reporting procedures to the preventive measures adopted in various areas as a result, such as the construction of safe infrastructure. In the other, he presented the City of Zurich’s new prevention films, in which virtual reality 360-degree technology lets you take safety training on a bike without any exposure to the real-world dangers of city traffic. The talks elicited a very enthusiastic response from the audience of international experts. It became clear that both the problems of road safety and measures to combat them are at least to some extent comparable and transferable. Cities should facilitate an intense, ongoing exchange of ideas on this issue, seeking to learn from each other.

Links
OECD Network «Safer City Streets»
360-degree films (multilingual D/E/F/I)

Wernher Brucks, Traffic Section, Department of Public Safety

In mid-March, a delegation from the Civil Engineering Office headed by city engineer Vilmar Krähenbühl paid a two-day visit to Munich, the capital of the German state of Bavaria. The visit to the Department of Public Order, which is responsible for strategic mobility planning in Munich, focused on an exchange of insights about integrated mobility planning and a discussion of the current and future challenges presented by mobility, new technologies, e-mobility, mobility consultancy and the sharing economy. In addition to various keynote presentations by experts from the city administration, the programme also included a number of visits locally. A bicycle excursion visited Kapuzinerstrasse, one of the flagship projects by Munich’s cycling planners. Delegates were also shown the Münchner Freiheit mobility station, a fine example of a functioning interface between the tram, bus, subway and various sharing schemes. They also visited the Domagkpark residential development, a showcase project integrating housing and mobility that offers a compelling solution for combining a less car-dependent lifestyle with innovative mobility concepts.

Links
Department of Public Order of the City of Munich (only in German)
Munich, Cycling Capital (only in German)
Domagkpark, new housing development (only in German)

René Huber, Civil Engineering Office, Civil Engineering and Waste Management Department

On 12 March, the Chinese New Year of the Dog, which began on 16 February 2018, was celebrated at the Zunfthaus zur Meisen. The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and the Swiss–Hong Kong Business Association extended an invitation to the New Year Reception, with the Mayor of the City of Zurich, Corine Mauch, in attendance as Guest of Honour.

The event was opened by Betty Ho, Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Berlin. In her speech, the Mayor addressed friendship between cities and the special connection between Zurich and Hong Kong. The cultural supporting programme of the event was provided by marimba player Fiona Foo from Hong Kong, who also put on a very energetic performance including tap-dancing and even some rap.

The exchange between Zurich and Hong Kong has intensified further since the «Zürich meets Hong Kong» festival. Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, also stopped off in Zurich during her visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos in January. The development of the two cities was discussed under the aspects «Smart City» and «Zurich as a Hub of Urban Production».

Here’s to a Happy New Year of the Dog and to an ongoing productive exchange between Hong Kong and the City of Zurich.

Stefan Ege, Foreign Affairs, Department of the Mayor

The Melbourne String Ensemble (MSE) was looking into possibilities for performing in Zurich – and was welcomed with open arms by the Zurich Conservatory and School of Music (MKZ). The Australian string orchestra, which is made up of 20 or so musicians between the ages of 14 and 17, was thus not only given the opportunity of a prestigious performance during their European tour, they were also looked after by families free of charge in a homestay organised by MKZ.
The orchestra played their own programme at the Florhofgasse Music Centre on 7 April. On another occasion they joined up with MKZ’s elite formation, the Zurich Youth Symphony Orchestra, to perform the spring concert «Servus Mozart» at the Tonhalle Maag Concert Hall. MSE soloist Jessica Walton was enthusiastic about the performance: «The concert at the Tonhalle Maag was something very special; we’d heard in advance that this would be a unique opportunity.» But the homestay was a success too. Within a few weeks, enough prospective hosts had contacted MKZ with offers of accommodation for the MSE during its stay of six days and five nights. So it was that with the support of the parents of its students, MKZ facilitated not only the musical exchange but also a successful cultural exchange between Zurich and Melbourne.

Simone Knittel, Zurich Conservatory and School of Music, Department of Education and Sport