A Liveability Framework for the Future

The refreshed Liveability Framework was launched at the World
Cities Summit 2024. It considers current challenges and proposes an updated
understanding of liveability outcomes for cities, as well as the supporting planning,
governance and collaborative systems that enable them, by incorporating views
from both within and outside government.

Through the study of Singapore’s development journey and taking into account current and emerging urban challenges, CLC has distilled the desired outcomes and supporting systems undergirding Singapore’s approach to liveable and sustainable urban development.

The Liveability Framework captures these findings via a diagram comprising three intersecting circles that represent the critical liveability outcomes, and an encompassing "ring-like” structure that symbolises the three complementary systems that create the enabling conditions to achieve and sustain these outcomes.

Three outcomes were identified for a liveable city – (1) a Competitive Economy, (2) a Sustainable Environment and (3) a High Quality of Life. Given limited land and other resources, the framework recognises the need for a balanced approach in achieving these outcomes, and the overlaps represent the potential for synergies and trade-offs between them.

The new framework also recognises that our systems must support our approach to attaining liveability, and outlines three implicit sets of principles that help to ensure cities can pivot towards more liveable and sustainable futures. The third system, “collaborative ecosystem”, is a new addition to the framework, in recognition of the increasing importance of transformative partnerships both with the people sector and across borders to develop and sustain longer term urban solutions:

Master Planning and Development

• Think Long Term

• Build for Resilience

• Seek “Win-Win”

• Execute Effectively

• Innovate Systemically

Dynamic Urban Governance

• Lead with Vision and Pragmatism

• Uphold a Culture of Integrity

• Cultivate Sound Institutions

• Engage and Partner with the Community

• Work with Markets

Collaborative Ecosystem

• Collective Stewardship as a Foundation for Transformative Collaborations

• Forging Strong Partnerships Beyond a City’s Boundaries

Finally, the framework also presents case studies from all 7 Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize laureate cities, illustrating how many of the framework’s principles do in fact resonate across cities. This not only highlights the potential global applicability of the framework, but also helps to promote cross learning for the future. In sharing, Singapore can also learn from other cities and continue to do better.

While the new Liveability Framework was prepared from the perspective of Singapore, it may be relevant to other global cities with similar context. Nevertheless, the use of the framework by other cities will require adaptation as fit. It is not meant to be a prescriptive model, but rather, a practical prompt of issues that cities should consider as they continue to chart their own paths ahead and build more liveable, sustainable environments for urban dwellers.

For more information on the Singapore Liveability Framework, please refer to

Building Liveable and Sustainable Cities: A Framework for the Future.