# Emerging Stronger: Innovative Cities of Tomorrow - **Source:** Ministry of National Development - **Published:** 2021-03-26T06:00:00.000Z - **Author:** Ministry of National Development - **Original:** https://www.mnd.gov.sg/newsroom/press-releases/view/emerging-stronger-innovative-cities-of-tomorrow - **Topics:** Government & Policy, Sustainability & PropTech ## Featured rationale Research in climate resilience and automated construction may support safer, more productive development while potentially improving the long-term sustainability of Singapore’s built environment. ## AI summary Singapore announced urban-sustainability initiatives including $25 million for marine climate research and a 2.5-year HDB-A*STAR project developing 5G-enabled smart construction systems. ## Original article Urban Sustainability Research and Development (R&D) will continue to be a key national priority, as we work towards emerging stronger from the COVID-19 pandemic. At the inaugural opening session of the Urban Sustainability R&D e-Symposia today, Guest-of-Honour Mr Desmond Lee, Minister for National Development and Minister-in-charge of Social Services Integration, reaffirmed our commitment to advance the urban solutions research agenda and to foster more collaboration within the community. Themed “Emerging Stronger: Innovative Cities of Tomorrow”, the e-Symposia which is held in place of the 6th Urban Solutions and Sustainability (USS) R&D Congress, will comprise a year-long series of webinars that covers research themes as well as innovation and enterprise topics of interest in RIE2025. Minister Desmond Lee announced several key initiatives in support of R&D efforts in Urban Sustainability: Drive sustainable and climate resilient future a) NParks’ research on Marine Climate Change Science NParks will be leading a $25-million initiative which will advance research in marine climate change research. This multi-stakeholder initiative will cut across various disciplines (such as ecological resilience, eco-engineering and blue carbon science), and strengthen our capabilities in marine climate change science research, to address challenges faced by our coastal and marine environment arising from climate change. More details in Annex A. b) PUB studies on reducing energy consumption and waste footprint of desalination Under the RIE 2020 funding, PUB recently awarded close to $11 million to six projects, to study new technologies to reduce energy consumption and waste footprint of desalination. These include technologies to improve both the pre- and post-treatment processes for seawater desalination, to achieve water sustainability. Build capabilities in urban social sciences c) “CityScan” research project A multi-disciplinary multi-institute consortium led by Nanyang Technological University (NTU), has been awarded close to $2 million of funding for “CityScan” under the Cities of Tomorrow R&D Programme. NTU aims to identify emerging social trends, gaps in research and further understanding of societal shifts to develop relevant interventions required to improve city planning and design. This will enable us to sense changes in societies early to proactively help communities to form strong relationships and deepen emotional connection with the city as we continue to rejuvenate our urban environment. Support growth and transformation d) HDB-A*STAR’s Institute for Infocomm Research (I2R) RCA on 5G-enabled Smart Construction d) Taking place over the next 2.5 years, this collaboration between HDB and A*STAR’s I2R will research and develop a system to enhance productivity and safety at construction sites, by integrating 5G technology with drones, robots, and artificial intelligence. This system will leverage 5G’s superior performance to deploy a fleet of drones and robots that can intelligently monitor various aspects of a construction site. e) HDB-A*STAR MOU on Technology Transfer of MND Research Outcomes HDB, MND’s appointed lead agency on Intellectual Property (IP) management and technology transfer, will leverage A*STAR’s research translation capabilities to commercialise the research outcomes developed and deployed by MND agencies for operational use over the next 3 years. This includes productising IPs and promoting business-matching between the MND agencies and industry partners. Please refer to HDB and A*STAR’s press release for more details on the RCA and MOU for items d) and e). Forging Closer Partnerships to Co-Develop Solutions MND is constantly looking for avenues to collaborate with the research community and academia, so that we can co-develop ideas which can further our urban sustainability research agenda. To advance urban planning and design competencies and capabilities in URA and the local eco-system, URA will be establishing strategic collaborations with local universities and industry partners from 2021. The collaborations will cover areas such as joint research and knowledge exchange. These partnerships will enable Singapore to leverage opportunities from new technologies and targeted research, to better meet the challenges of our future operating environment. Urban Solutions and Sustainability Research, Innovation & Enterprise 2025 USS is one of four prioritised technology domains for Research, Innovation & Enterprise (RIE) 2025. USS aims to develop Singapore into a liveable, resilient, sustainable, and economically-vibrant city through investments into key research and innovation programmes. One of the key research programmes under the USS is the Cities of Tomorrow R&D Programme (“CoT”). The CoT is MND’s flagship R&D programme to drive USS’ efforts to transform the built environment sector and there are continuous efforts to review the programme to ensure that it remains relevant to address the needs of Singapore. In support of the Singapore Green Plan 2030, CoT will be expanded to include a new ‘City in Nature’ research pillar in RIE 2025 to strengthen its contribution to meeting our sustainability goals. More details can be found in Annex B. The new ‘City in Nature’ research pillar will build on existing R&D efforts in greenery and biodiversity, and provide a scientific foundation that will support Singapore’s transformation into a City in Nature. This research pillar will equip us to maximise the benefits of our urban greenery and ecosystems to enhance Singapore’s liveability and sustainability. This will not only ensure that Singaporeans continue to enjoy a high-quality living environment as Singapore continues to develop, but will also propel Singapore to be a world leader in harnessing natural capital to strengthen our ecological, social and climate resilience, and help to retain Singapore’s competitive edge as one of the world’s greenest cities. More details can be found in Annex C. About the Urban Sustainability R&D e-Symposia Over the last decade, the scientific and research community has convened to discuss Singapore's R&D priorities and milestone projects through the signature Urban Sustainability R&D Congress. Despite the constraints brought about by COVID-19, MND has decided to continue with our biennial traditional through the virtual Urban Sustainability R&D e-Symposia, which is held in place of the 6th USS R&D Congress. Following the opening webinar, monthly research thematic webinars will be organised to further discussion on USS research themes for RIE2025. Through these webinars, we hope that the community will be able to continue to share emerging trends and technologies in identified focus areas so as to solicit and promote good ideas/proposals from the research community, and rally for more research-industry partnerships to deploy and commercialise research outcomes. ## Chinese translation > Translation model: grok_cli ### 更强复苏：明日创新城市 城市可持续性研究与开发（R&D）将继续是国家重点优先事项，我们致力于从冠病疫情中更强复苏。在今日举行的城市可持续性研发电子研讨会系列开幕会议上，主宾国家发展部部长兼社会服务统筹部长李智陞先生重申，我们致力于推进城市解决方案研究议程，并促进社群内更多协作。 以“更强复苏：明日创新城市”为主题的电子研讨会系列，取代第六届城市解决方案与可持续性（USS）研发大会，将以为期一年的网络研讨会系列形式举行，涵盖RIE2025中的研究主题以及创新与企业相关课题。李智陞部长宣布了多项支持城市可持续性研发工作的重要举措： 推动可持续且具气候韧性的未来 a）国家公园局的海洋气候变化科学研究 国家公园局将牵头一项2500万新元的计划，推进海洋气候变化研究。这一多方利益相关者计划将跨越多学科（如生态韧性、生态工程与蓝碳科学），加强我们在海洋气候变化科学研究方面的能力，以应对气候变化给我们的海岸与海洋环境带来的挑战。 更多详情见附件A。 b）公用事业局关于降低海水淡化能耗与废弃物足迹的研究 在RIE 2020资助下，公用事业局近期向六个项目拨款近1100万新元，研究可降低海水淡化能耗与废弃物足迹的新技术。其中包括改进海水淡化前处理与后处理工艺的技术，以实现水资源可持续性。 建设城市社会科学能力 c）“CityScan”研究项目 由南洋理工大学（NTU）牵头的跨学科、多机构联盟，已在“明日城市”研发计划下获近200万新元资助开展“CityScan”。南洋理工大学旨在识别新兴社会趋势、研究缺口，并加深对社会变迁的理解，以制定改善城市规划与设计所需的相关干预措施。这将使我们能及早感知社会变化，主动帮助社区建立牢固关系，并加深与城市的情感联结，同时我们继续更新城市环境。 支持增长与转型 d）建屋发展局与科技研究局资讯通信研究院（I2R）关于5G赋能智慧建造的研究合作协议（RCA） d）未来2.5年，建屋发展局与科技研究局I2R的这项合作将研发一套系统，通过整合5G技术与无人机、机器人及人工智能，提升工地生产力与安全。该系统将利用5G的卓越性能部署无人机与机器人机队，智能监测工地各方面情况。 e）建屋发展局与科技研究局关于国家发展部研究成果技术转移的谅解备忘录 建屋发展局作为国家发展部指定的知识产权（IP）管理与技术转移主导机构，将借助科技研究局的研究转化能力，在未来3年内将国家发展部各机构为运营用途开发并部署的研究成果商业化。这包括将知识产权产品化，以及促进国家发展部各机构与业界伙伴之间的商务对接。 有关项目d）与e）的RCA及谅解备忘录详情，请参阅建屋发展局与科技研究局的新闻稿。 建立更紧密伙伴关系以共同开发解决方案 国家发展部持续寻求与研究界及学术界协作的途径，以便共同开发能够推进我们城市可持续性研究议程的构想。 为提升市区重建局及本地生态系统的城市规划与设计能力与水平，市区重建局将自2021年起与本地大学及业界伙伴建立战略性协作。协作范围包括联合研究与知识交流等领域。这些伙伴关系将使新加坡能够利用新技术与定向研究带来的机遇，更好地应对未来运营环境的挑战。 城市解决方案与可持续性：研究、创新与企业2025 USS是研究、创新与企业（RIE）2025的四个优先技术领域之一。USS旨在通过对关键研究与创新计划的投资，将新加坡发展成为宜居、有韧性、可持续且经济充满活力的城市。 USS下的关键研究计划之一是“明日城市”研发计划（“CoT”）。CoT是国家发展部推动USS努力以转型建成环境行业的旗舰研发计划，并持续检讨该计划，确保其仍能切合新加坡的需要。为支持《新加坡绿色发展蓝图2030》，CoT将在RIE 2025中扩展，纳入新的“自然之城”研究支柱，以加强对我们可持续性目标的贡献。 更多详情见附件B。 新的“自然之城”研究支柱将在现有绿化与生物多样性研发工作基础上进一步发展，并为新加坡转型为“自然之城”提供科学基础。该研究支柱将使我们能够最大化城市绿化与生态系统的效益，以提升新加坡的宜居性与可持续性。这不仅确保新加坡人在国家持续发展的同时继续享有高品质生活环境，也将推动新加坡成为利用自然资本增强生态、社会与气候韧性的世界领先者，并有助于保持新加坡作为全球最绿城市之一的竞争优势。 更多详情见附件C。 关于城市可持续性研发电子研讨会系列 过去十年，科学与研究界通过标志性的城市可持续性研发大会齐聚一堂，讨论新加坡的研发优先事项与里程碑项目。尽管受到冠病带来的限制，国家发展部决定通过虚拟的城市可持续性研发电子研讨会系列延续这一双年传统，该系列取代第六届USS研发大会。 开幕网络研讨会之后，将组织月度研究主题网络研讨会，进一步讨论RIE2025的USS研究主题。通过这些网络研讨会，我们希望社群能够继续分享既定重点领域的新兴趋势与技术，从而征集并推动研究界的良好构想/提案，并凝聚更多研究—产业伙伴关系，以部署并商业化研究成果。