Addressing the Challenges of Sustainable Urban Development – World Urban Forum 2024

CLC contributed to the global conversation on the challenges of rapid urbanisation by sharing Singapore’s experiences and solutions, in accordance to WUF 2024’s theme “It All Starts at Home: Local Actions for Sustainable Cities and Communities.“

In support of the call for global action towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) - especially SDG 11 on “Communities and Cities” – a delegation from CLC, led by Executive Fellow Michael Koh, participated in the 12th World Urban Forum from 4 to 6 November this year.

The World Urban Forum (WUF) was established in 2001 by the United Nations. Organised biennially by UN-Habitat, this high-level platform seeks to address rapid urbanisation and its impact on communities, cities, economies, climate change and policies. This year, it was themed “It All Starts at Home: Local Actions for Sustainable Cities and Communities” and hosted by the city of Cairo in Egypt.

Sustainable and Inclusive Infrastructure

Mr Koh spoke on two panels at WUF 2024. The first, titled "Voices from Cities: Building Better lives through Sustainable and Inclusive Infrastructure’, was organised by UN-Habitat and CLC’s long-time research partner, Arup. This panel brought together diverse and global perspectives and solutions to enhance cities’ abilities to drive local actions in improving housing settlement problems. Here, Mr Koh spoke about Singapore’s public housing development journey, our approach in regarding housing as a common good, and towards fostering an inclusive and resilient society that would address emerging issues such as an ageing population.

His fellow panellists, including Arup’s Sara Candiracci, Gehl Architects’ Andreina Seijas, Erin Ansell from the UNOPS Africa Regional Office and Joe Mulligan from Kounkuey Design Initiative Kenya, shared on topics such as local solutions for sustainable and inclusive infrastructure to revitalise community and public spaces, and recommended checklists to serve as guides on developing inclusive infrastructure.

Nature-based Solutions

At his second panel session on “Reimagining Cities Through Nature’’, Mr Koh joined country and city leaders from South Africa, Chengdu, Ramallah and Cali, and Marmara Municipalities Union’s Secretary General, Cemil Arslan, in exploring how to create a more inclusive urban future through innovative nature-based solutions (NbS) and the integration of nature in cities. This session was co-organised by the World Association of Major Metropolises (Metropolis) and the Maramara Municipalities Union of Türkiye.

Mr Koh highlighted the various NbS that Singapore has adopted to manage climate change impacts, such as those for urban coastal resilience and biodiversity conservation. He also participated in a lively discussion as the audience raised questions on the implementation and integration of Singapore’s NbS in urban settings, and the use of more granular data to prioritise long-term urban planning and decision-making.

Furthering global networks

CLC’s participation at WUF 2024 also reflects our continued support of and partnership with UN-Habitat. We look forward to other knowledge-exchange initiatives, such as the Singapore-UN Habitat International Leaders in Urban Governance Programme which will be held in Singapore from 24-28 March 2025, and the renewal of a long-standing Memorandum of Understanding.

In addition to our collaboration with UN-Habitat, the CLC delegation also furthered working relations with city leaders including the mayors of Cairo, Cali, Riyadh and Tirana. International platforms such as WUF 2024, and CLC’s own World Cities Summit and the Mayors Forum, are essential in bringing together global leaders to share knowledge and integrated urban solutions for building cities of the future.

Contributed by:

Mary Anne Pan
Deputy Director

Kenneth Goh
Assistant Director
Capability Development and International Advisory