The Kingdom's Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai enjoyed an outstanding attendance in the activities of the Urban and Rural Development Week and the Expo Program for Man and Planet Earth, which is the third week of specialized topics organized by the international event, which will continue until March 31, 2022. The pavilion did not lose sight of the held sessions, including "House in Nature: Healthy Making, Livable Environments, and Sustainability", held at the Nexus Pavilion located in the Opportunity District. Several officials took part in the sessions representing various international pavilions, as well as experts and specialists, who shed light on global sustainability challenges and opportunities and reviewed future trends in urban and rural development. During the "House In Nature" sessions, the participants discussed ways to build cities and the target groups that these cities serve. They also examined models of future and smart cities that focus on people, as well as rural communities, and means to harness various innovations to secure safe living standards and affordable services, in addition to providing equal opportunities for all to achieve progress and prosperity. Moreover, the participants talked about the challenges facing global sustainability, ways to explore opportunities to adjust to the environment in light of the high demand for resources from cities and communities, and expectations that more than 70% of the world's population will live in cities by 2050 and more than one billion people in informal settlements, and called for the need to reconsider the way urban and rural habitats, both formal and informal, should be. During the events, the Kingdom's achievements in this regard were brought in spotlight including its contributions to facing environmental challenges and its commitment to the principles of environmental sustainability, as well as its interest in establishing future, smart and modern cities, while preserving entertainment communities. It also brought to limelight the qualitative leaps achieved by the Kingdom's cities, citing Riyadh city as a model which has become at the forefront of global indicators as one of the smart cities in the world, in addition to the Kingdom's promising "NEOM" project, which constitutes a model for sustainable cities that rely entirely on wind and solar energy, as this is fully consistent with the Kingdom's Vision 2030. The sessions also reviewed various comprehensive and sustainable urban development models, as well as future trends in urban and rural development, the best innovative solutions demonstrated at Expo 2020 Dubai. It also highlighted some of the various government plans that aim to ensure integrating sustainability with urban and rural development plans, and efforts to reduce the impact on the environment and access to clean energy and green public spaces; to promote the public health and well-being of the population. — SPA
