Exploring the Future of Cities: A Dialogue with Lord Norman Foster

Held on 7 September at the Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC), renowned architect Lord Norman Foster met with senior leaders from the MND Family of agencies including CLC, Urban Redevelopment Authority, Housing Development Board, Building and Construction Authority, and the National Parks Board, for a dialogue focusing on issues relating to the future of cities.

This session provided an opportunity for Lord Foster to share his insights in areas such as the importance of infrastructure, the future of urban planning and greater experimentation as cities continually develop and innovate.

Importance of Infrastructure

There is an important emphasis on the critical role of city infrastructure in defining liveability. Lord Foster referred to this as the "urban glue" that holds a city together. He illustrated this through the Norman Foster Foundation's recent collaboration with Kharkiv, Urkaine, where a reconstruction masterplan for the city is being developed. The approach that was co-developed with local architects is based on five pilot projects and 14 guiding principles. It aims to test new planning principles and building technologies to inform future urban regulations. This includes initiatives like retrofitting existing panel-housing blocks for energy efficiency and launching a new science 'neighbourhood' project to revitalise the city's industrial base.

Future of Urban Planning

The defining characteristics of the most desirable cities of the future were also discussed. Key issues include energy transition, waste management and recycling, liveability related to proximity, and the need for cities to reverse some zoning approaches to be more sympathetic with updated land uses.

Lord Foster also highlighted the need to move towards low carbon footprints and well-networked public transport systems. The integration of housing with workplaces was also discussed as a critical factor in creating more vibrant and resilient urban environments.

Greater Experimentation

City governments are encouraged to identify more live urban projects or prototypes to test bed new planning, architectural, and construction ideas. These may also include exploring alternative energy sources. Lord Foster further highlighted the transformative potential of Small Modular Reactors in tackling our climate crisis and suggested that cities should do more research on mainstreaming its applications in the urban context and activate its use in "off-the-grid" areas. This call for experimentation and innovation underscores the need for cities to continually evolve and adapt to meet the changing needs of their inhabitants.

Writer’s Bio:

David Tan
Senior Assistant Director (Research)
Centre for Liveable Cities

David resides in the Research arm of the Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC), where he leads the Foresight and Indices Teams, to enhance decision-making and planning policies by anticipating and analysing future trends, as well as measuring the liveability of cities through indices. This contributes to CLC's efforts in ensuring Singapore is not only liveable but also sustainable and resilient for future generations.