The key to achieving the "Better City, Better Life" theme of the Shanghai World Expo is to maintain and develop a duality and harmony between man and nature, says Jim Blighe, director of the Ireland Pavilion of the Shanghai World Expo.

"We can and will have bigger cities, and more people continuing to live in cities, but we need to maintain harmony between man and the environment," Blighe said in an interview with Xinhua.

Ireland is a country that within a generation experienced a great movement of people from rural to urban areas, mirroring what is happening in China today, said Blighe.

Irish city planners think harmony can be maintained even in an increasing urbanized environment, Blighe said.

In urban areas, there should be beauty and harmony developed and appreciated as much as in rural societies, and that can be maintained and developed through people's appreciation of their history and particular traditions, he said.

"The expansion of infrastructure was important, as it enables cities to function. However, more emphasis should be put on the need of the community to preserve people's contact with nature and traditions," he said.

"Not all cities need to be the same and each city should retain its particular individuality. I think some Chinese cities have done that very well and have retained their particular look, feel and culture," Blighe said.

However, he also saw a challenge for Chinese cities where "the pressure to grow is so strong that sometimes people can forget this harmony and fail to keep in touch with their particular tradition and culture."

"There is a risk that some Chinese cities may be losing their individuality and particular culture. Shanghai and other Chinese cities need to expand in a Shanghainese or Chinese way, not necessarily the western way," Blighe said.

"I don't see that as a criticism of the Western way of doing things, but one of the fascinating experiences about the Expo is the mix of cultures, traditions, and different peoples," said Blighe.

He compared Shanghai with Dublin and saw scale as the major challenge to city planning in Shanghai.

"To do with the huge scale of Shanghai, city planners should make it easier for city residents to feel nature and be physically close to nature. Dublin is a smaller city but we have some enormous city parks," he said.

People have to accept that their culture, nature and heritage are not necessarily going to stay the same in future generations.

"The key is to stay in touch with our history, culture, traditions and to hang on to particular ways of living," he said.

"One of the key positive things the Expo can do for Chinese cities is to increase people's awareness of the importance of maintaining harmony and keeping tradition in mind while developing," Blighe said.

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