Taking Discussion onto a Global Stage: Future of Downtowns Roundtable at the World Cities Summit

Downtowns, otherwise known as Central Business Districts in some regions, have been impacted by the recent growth of hybrid and remote work. At the same time, the adoption of smart technologies and quality of life aspirations have compelled some downtowns to reinvent themselves to remain competitive amidst economic uncertainty.

In response, downtowns need to evolve and adapt to remain relevant. Some have introduced more flexible and mixed uses, while attempting to deal with challenges like rising cost of living, flight to quality trends, adaptive reuse of ageing infrastructure and evolving worker and business expectations.

This third and final Roundtable on the Future of Downtowns took place at the World Cities Summit 2024. It took advantage of the Summit’s global reach to convene stakeholders from different parts of the world in discussion of challenges faced and possible actions to achieve future downtowns.

The session was represented by 21 city leaders and industry experts from cities across the world from Glasgow, Mumbai to Sydney. City leaders from Bogota, Glasgow, New York and Antwerp presented on the key challenges faced by their respective cities and exemplary projects being undertaken or planned for more sustainable and liveable downtowns of the future.

The session also built on the newly launched e-report titled The Future of CBDs: Perspectives from 6 APAC Cities, which consolidates findings on common challenges and aspirations for future CBDs from six cities in the Asia Pacific region, namely Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo.

Participants at the roundtable shared on current and future key challenges faced by downtowns. For instance, delegates from New York, Los Angeles, Singapore and Sydney touched on the need for cities to streamline processes and reduce regulation to facilitate private sector initiatives. These included simplifying requirements to facilitate redevelopment and adaptive reuse of buildings as well as incentives or subsidies to enable more placemaking and night-time activities. It is also necessary for downtowns planning to evolve, considering changing work and lifestyle preferences, and demographic shifts. Additionally, this discussion highlighted the importance of city branding and the suite of experiences that downtowns can offer to attract talent and businesses alike.

A second discussion centred on possible solutions for multifaceted issues faced by downtowns. While various initiatives like the injection of affordable housing, shift towards sustainable mobility and vibrancy reforms were brought up, common themes that related to the importance of strong stakeholder partnerships and inclusive urban planning that considered the needs of all segments of the population continued to be raised.

The insights from this roundtable will help supplement CLC’s ongoing research on how Singapore and other cities are striving to develop competitive, attractive and resilient downtowns for the future.