Lessons from Bilbao: 1st Cities and Economy Forum 2016

CLC Fellow Michael Koh and Assistant Director Nisha Sharda from CLC attended Bilbao’s 1st Cities and Economy Forum in Bilbao, Spain in November 2016. Michael spoke about Singapore’s economic transformation journey and role as generator of business opportunities. This report presents the key observations made during the trip.

Here, Michael is pictured with the Mayor of Bilbao, Juan Mari Aburto (centre), and PwC Partner, Cities and Local Government Global Leader, Hazem Galal (right), who is also a World Cities Summit Young Leader.

Bilbao Cities and Economy Forum (Bilbao, Spain), 21–22 Nov 2016
Bilbao has dramatically transformed itself from a dilapidated industrial and shipbuilding city that was in the economic doldrums in the 1970s into a thriving, modern and economically competitive city, with a high quality of life. It has transformed its riverfront, conserved many historic buildings and built the iconic Guggenheim Museum with a framework of dynamic urban governance and integrated long-term planning in place.

“When it opened in 1997, the $100 million Guggenheim Bilbao — with its gleaming, titanium-covered roof and Jeff Koons’ 43-foot-tall flowered Puppy sculpture out front — was the most-talked-about building in the world, a crazy-angled UFO juxtaposed against the bleak surroundings of rusted iron factories, derelict shipyards and Bilbao’s 19th-century stone buildings.”

The late Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew at the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize awards in Singapore, with the late former Mayor of Bilbao, Inaki Azkuna in Singapore, 2010. Image courtesy of Bilbao Turismo.net

This amazing transformation of a brownfield city is inspiration to the old world, as well as the emerging economies in Asia and Africa. Bilbao’s makeover and efforts to remain relevant in today’s increasingly competitive world for talent and economic growth, have earned the city a number of accolades — one of which is the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize in 2010. Bilbao is also 2016/2017’s Fourth Best European City to invest in.

Bilbao’s transformation was well planned and executed effectively. The overall approach was systematic and holistic, incorporating economic, social and physical transformations with 25 projects, spanning 25 years. Today, Bilbao’s metropolitan area is home to half of the population and economic activity of the Basque country. The economic performance of the Basque country, an autonomous region in the North of Spain, of which Bilbao is the economic capital, is impressive. The productivity of the Basque country and GDP per capita is well above that of the EU’s average. Bilbao has produced companies such as Ticketbis, which was founded as a start-up in Bilbao and grew an international presence. Ticketbis was reportedly acquired by e-Bay in mid- 2016 for USD165 million. At the Forum, Bilbao’s Mayor Juan Mari Aburto clearly said that his administration’s focus is economic progress, and that everyone will be included. He also cautioned against sending youth the wrong message in today’s fast-changing world — instead of causing youth to feel disempowered, they should register know that they are being supported in the acquisition of new skills and are most welcome to be based in Bilbao.

Bilbao is setting her sights to become the “capital city of the Atlantic axis”, and this inaugural Cities and Economy Forum is a step in that direction. There was a good international representation at the Cities and Economy Forum with representatives from cities such as Amsterdam, Bilbao, Bordeaux, London, Madrid, Morelia, Mumbai, New York, Rotterdam, San Sebastian, Singapore and Tokyo sharing their urban transformations and future concerns. Innovation and technology were pre-occupations for many of these cities — whether they focused on developing and spearheading R&D or as “happy seconds”, i.e., adopters of successful technology developed and deployed elsewhere.

It was important for cities to know their “DNA”, wisely observed the City Councillor of the City of Bordeaux, who shared that Bordeaux was a small city of 750,000 inhabitants with a rich cultural heritage and 1,800 hectares of UNESCO World Heritage sites in the city centre. San Sebastian, another city in the Basque country differentiated itself from Bilbao by focusing more on tourism, culture and gastronomy so that it complemented Bilbao and Vittoria- Gasteiz; the other two cities in the Basque region; rather than compete against them.

CLC Fellow Michael shared about Singapore’s economic journey from the 1960s, and how planning played an integral role in the transformation of the nation. The One North Creative Cluster, Jurong Lake District, Innovation District and Punggol Creative Cluster were cited as examples of how urban rejuvenation and planning are facilitating economic clusters of activity. The whole-of-government approach was cited as a key factor of success, along with the close consultation between the government and the private sector, for example, the Committee on Future Economy, which is focusing on corporate capabilities and innovation, growth industries and markets, connectivity, city, jobs and skills.

Other cities presented how they were creating the right environments for innovation to happen. In the presentations, a key issue raised was the importance for innovation clusters to be dense, and for the relevant facilities to be sited together, i.e., venture capitalists (VCs), start-ups, mentors, training and more. Much collaboration can take place due to sheer proximity. This is also important in creating a dynamic innovation and creative culture. When start-ups see other start-ups in the same building or floor getting patents, it can have a spillover effect. Corridor conversations are important to foster collaboration and idea exchanges. When start-ups are scattered over the city, it is hard to have a combustion effect, as VCs and big businesses don’t have a cluster to approach. It was also important for these co-working spaces to be located in well-connected and central parts of the city instead of suburban and far-flung parts. One example that was cited is Cambridge Innovation Centre’s (CIC) Rotterdam’s location, which is right next to the central train station.

Image credit: CIC Rotterdam Linked In page (https://www.linkedin.com/company/cic-rotterdam)

What next for Bilbao? The work continues. Bilbao’s efforts are currently centred on creating a new knowledge economy, Industry 4.0, artificial intelligence and big data. Exciting urban rejuvenation developments are underway as the government plans to build an “Urban Technological Park” in Zorrotzaurre and Punto Zorroza.

Image of the planned rejuvenation of Zorrotzaurre

A planned investment of €224 million will transform Zorrotzaurre from being the centre of the old industrial Bilbao into a thriving new quarter that will combine residential, public and economic activities. This is planned to be the economic heart and a new area of opportunity in Bilbao. These will be mixed-use housing, public spaces and economic activity, which will comprise almost 35% of its intended use. There will also be incubator hotspots for entrepreneurs as Bilbao, along with other cities, move into the new knowledge and innovation economy.

About the Writer

Nisha Sharda

Nisha works on international capacity development programmes in Urban Governance at CLC. She was part of the team that launched the ASEAN Smart Cities Network, and was with the WCS team where she also managed the global WCS Young Leaders Network. She was previously a Crime Analyst, and developed capacity building programmes in safety and security with the Ministry of Home Affairs.