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Jun 05, 2014 20:00 JST

Source: World Cities Summit

World Cities Summit Concludes on a High Note with New Partnerships and Stronger Collective Resolve to Build Better Cities for People
Announcements at World Cities Summit 2014 showcase Public-Private-Partnerships to build smart and liveable cities

SINGAPORE, Jun 05, 2014 - (ACN Newswire) - Over 130 Mayors and city leaders, together with representatives of international organisations, researchers and urban planners discussed strategies to develop smart cities at the World Cities Summit 2014. The Summit - a premier platform to address urban sustainability challenges and develop solutions - concluded yesterday with new partnerships forged and a stronger collective resolve to develop liveable, more resilient and attractive cities for urban residents around the world.

Held from 1 - 4 June, the fourth edition of World Cities Summit, together with Singapore International Water Week (SIWW) and CleanEnviro Summit Singapore (CESS), attracted a record participation of more than 20,000 participants from 118 countries including ministers, mayors, government officials, industry leaders, academics and representatives from international organisations. The World Cities Summit Pavilion, together with the Water Expo, WasteMet Asia and CleanMet Asia, also showcased the latest developments and technologies from almost 1,000 companies globally. It was the second time that the World Cities Summit was co-located with SIWW and CESS.

Creating a "Smart" and Liveable City

A key theme that was discussed and debated during the Summit was the issue of what makes a "smart city". There was broad agreement that a smart city is a green city and should be sustainable and liveable. Cities have to provide a high quality of life to their people and sustainability was no longer an option but a necessity.

In his closing remarks, Dr Liu Thai Ker, Chairman of the Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC), reminded delegates that the city was, in a sense, the largest piece of industrial design made by man and would be judged by whether it was user friendly, functioned well and looked good. He said: "In urban planning, we must have a humanist's heart, a scientist's head and an artist's eyes. The ultimate achievement for a city is to earn unconditional respect from people all over the world, for our people, our city and our country."

Collaborations and Partnerships Formed to Improve Lives

Participants at the World Cities Summit also stressed the need for governments to collaborate more closely with businesses, academia and citizen networks to create more holistic and cost-effective solutions and improve quality of life. Several announcements made at the Summit have set the goal into action.

The Housing and Development Board of Singapore signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Energy Market Authority, Singapore and Panasonic to study the feasibility of establishing a Smart Home Energy pilot to provide households with more energy choices and solutions. This includes the possibility of implementing time-of-use electricity rate packages and integrating features such as the home energy management system.

In a contract-signing ceremony, Singapore's EZ-Link and Taipei's EasyCard Corporation inked an MOU for the use of a single card to facilitate seamless travel and retail transactions in both countries. This collaboration will make travelling between and within both cities more convenient for tourists and business travellers.

The Urban Land Institute and the Centre for Liveable Cities also reaffirmed their commitment to collaborate on research projects focused on improving community liveability, through the renewal of their MOU. They shared findings from their study 'Active Mobility' conducted with renowned Danish architect and urban designer Jan Gehl that will complement Singapore's National Cycling Plan.

Mr Larry Ng, Managing Director of the World Cities Summit said: "I am delighted that a number of public-private-partnerships have been forged at this year's World Cities Summit. This underscores the Summit's growing significance as the premier platform for global thought leaders across the urban planning spectrum to have meaningful conversations, and work together to find innovative solutions to address real global problems."

Details on major announcements made and partnerships signed at the Summit are are available at http://bit.ly/1of7Dir.

Young Leaders Seeding Change

This year's Summit introduced the inaugural WCS Young Leaders, aimed at cultivating the next generation of urban leaders from the world's governments, industry and academia who are committed to help shape urban development agendas in cities around the world.

About 60 of these young leaders were involved in the WCS Young Leaders Symposium on 31 May 2014, where they shared their ideas and vision to transform their own cities and be effective agents of change.

Community engagement

For the first time this year, Mayor of South East District, who is also Minister of State for National Development and Defence, Dr Maliki Osman, hosted a group of 20 government and city officials from various countries including Spain and Brunei on a community visit. The mayors visited homes of residents who are part of the Neighbours for Active Living programme - a comprehensive healthcare tracking and support system for local communities in the Siglap area. They also visited Joo Chiat - Singapore's first Heritage Town.

The next World Cities Summit will be held from 10 - 14 July 2016 at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Singapore. The World Cities Summit Mayors Forum 2015 will be held in New York City, USA.

Contact:
Lin Kuek
H+K Strategies Singapore
DID: +65 6390 3363
Mobile: +65 9336 5080
lin.kuek@hkstrategies.com
Source: World Cities Summit
Sectors: Environment, ESG

Copyright ©2025 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. A division of Asia Corporate News Network.

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