Famous French architect Thomas Richez was invited to come to Kaohsiung City on November 16th to meet with the city's Transportation Bureau, Public Works Bureau, Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit Bureau, and Urban Development Bureau for a workshop and exchange on Circular Light Rail line corridor and other major Kaohsiung City public transport construction projects. Thomas Richez proposed that the light rail should combine the attributes of the both the city and the surrounding towns, which will bring the light rail into the daily lives of the people and thus attract the people from the surrounding area to use the new system. In a touching scene, deputy Mayor Wu Hong-Mo led a moment of silence during his speech to commemorate France's recent terrorist attacks that caused heavy causalities. Thomas Richez is the co-founder and director of the French architecture firm Richez_Associés, and has served as president of the Architectes Français à l'Export (AFEX), a French organization for architects working abroad. Currently, he serves as a committee member on the "Light Rail and Urban Environment" committee of the Sino-French Architectural Communication Society (SFACS). For the last 30 years, the association has assisted 25 cities in France and Europe to complete 40 light rail system plans and their construction, including the light rail plans for the famous Paris metro, Le Mans, and Orleans. This has made him one of Europe's most famous urban transportation planning experts. In October, Mayor Chen Chu specifically went to France to see Thomas Ritchie because of his profound experience in helping European cities promote their light rail construction. There, she invited him to come to Kaohsiung to exchanges ideas on Kaohsiung City's ongoing light rail circular line, subway, and other major public construction projects. At the same time he was invited to attend a workshop to have a discussion with related municipal government units. At the workshop, Thomas Richez first proposed the importance of the close integration of urban transportation and urban construction plans. He said that the transportation system in urban planning has far reaching impacts on the people's daily lives and urban development. An excellent transportation system may not only enhance a city's competitiveness, but also greatly improve the quality of life of its residents. Moreover, public transportation systems can be a mobile piece of public art that enhances the city's aesthetics. Using light-rail as an example, he said that in the construction of light-rail and other public transportation methods, planners should think not only of the light-rail, but also consider what kind of broader changes the light-rail will bring to the urban landscape along the railway corridor. Moreover, it should focus on the surrounding community and its overall pedestrian and bicycle environment to create a more “organic” environment. By integrating the planning of the light-rail outwards into surrounding communities, nearby communities, and the texture of urban life, the light-rail will become a part of people's daily lives. This will attract nearby residents to use the system. At the workshop held on the 16th, deputy Mayor Wu Hong-Mo lead the four directors of the Urban Development Bureau, Public Works Bureau, Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit Bureau, and Transportation Bureau in an in-depth discussion with the architect Thomas Richez where they exchanged ideas on the planning concepts of the Kaohsiung subway and the second phase of the light-rail plan. There, Wu Hong Mo stated that Kaohsiung has undergone a successful transformation in its pursuit of sustainable urban development through the planning and execution of a number of major transportation construction projects. This large-scale public construction plan has lead the city in a progressive reconstruction, thus improving Kaohsiung's traffic and enhancing the city's overall living environment. An ICLEI Member since 2006, Mayor Chen Chu has taken over as Chair of the EcoMobility Alliance of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) on September 24, 2015., and announced that Kaohsiung will host the ICLEI's most important event, the Eco-Mobility World Festival, in 2017. Thomas Richez will be invited again to visit Kaohsiung at that time to see the results of Kaohsiung's urban renewal.