# World Cities Summit 2018 Embraces Future-Ready Cities Empowered by Technology, Innovation and Collaboration - **Source:** Ministry of National Development - **Published:** 2018-07-20T09:00:00.000Z - **Author:** Ministry of National Development - **Original:** https://www.mnd.gov.sg/newsroom/press-releases/view/world-cities-summit-2018-embraces-future-ready-cities-empowered-by-technology-innovation-and-collaboration - **Topics:** Government & Policy, Sustainability & PropTech ## Featured rationale The partnerships signal stronger institutional support for innovative urban planning, potentially accelerating adoption of smart, resilient and people-centric solutions in future developments. ## AI summary World Cities Summit 2018 brought together leaders from 128 cities and produced 16 MOUs and agreements focused on sustainable, future-ready urban development. ## Original article Knowledge sharing and new partnerships announced at the sixth edition of World Cities Summit pave the way for cities to offer sustainable solutions to meet future urban demands and place-making challenges and opportunities Singapore, 20 July 2018 – Over 130 mayors and city leaders from 128 cities gathered at the World Cities Summit 2018 held in Singapore to share learnings and to address challenges and innovations for future-ready cities. 16 Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) and agreements were inked, paving the way for collaborations between cities and stakeholders in the public, private and people sectors. Interactions at this global platform attended by more than 1,700 senior-level participants provided opportunities for city leaders, industry experts and leading academics to explore how cities can be more liveable and sustainable through better urban governance, planning, building resilience and leveraging on innovations. Held from 8 – 12 July, the 2018 edition of the World Cities Summit-Singapore International Water Week-CleanEnviro Summit Singapore (WCS-SIWW-CESS) events drew more than 24,000 trade attendees (compared to more than 21,000 in 2016) including government officials, industry leaders and city experts, academics as well as representatives from the business community across 110 countries and regions. This year, WCS went beyond the broad themes of urban governance and liveable cities, to embracing the future of cities through innovation and collaboration. The Summit showcased integrated urban solutions necessary to address pressing challenges faced by cities, forged new partnerships, and brought together the top echelons across the public, private and people sectors. “Out of the 128 cities that participated in WCS 2018, 67 cities are first-time participants and 61 cities are returning participants. The strong show of support from city leaders, industry experts and leading academics alike bear testament to the increasing prestige and appeal of WCS as the leading international platform for urban sustainability conversations and innovations,” said Mr Michael Koh, joint spokesperson for WCS-SIWW-CESS. Creating People-Centric Cities: Beyond Urban Infrastructure Besides combining good governance and engagement of their citizens, cities are also looking to become inclusive, creative and sustainable with a high quality of life. The Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize 2018 Laureate, Seoul, South Korea, shared at the Prize Lecture on how leveraging smart technology and the collective input of its citizens have helped tackle issues associated with rapid urbanisation. The four cities accorded Special Mentions – Hamburg, Kazan, Surabaya and Tokyo – further demonstrated how they have overcome planning challenges to develop cities of opportunities for their citizens. Citizen involvement and proper communication with stakeholders is crucial in shaping people-centric and liveable cities. Beyond urban infrastructure, citizen engagement should be integrated for all plans and ground-up processes should be incorporated into day-to-day operations. Big data presents the opportunity to allow decision-making on the finest details, providing transparency to all citizens and ensuring no one is left out. Embracing the future through innovation and collaboration The key theme of innovation was further reinforced by the collaborations and MOUs announced during WCS 2018. “We are seeing greater collaboration efforts with the best minds in urban planning and development from private companies, international organisations and government agencies at WCS,” Mr Koh added. “The combination of urban governance, planning, resilience, and innovation will form the foundation of a liveable and sustainable city for the future, one that addresses and meets future demands of cities amid rapid urbanisation.” Details on major announcements made and partnerships signed at the Summit are provided in Annex A. The next World Cities Summit will be held in 2020, from 5 – 9 July, in Singapore. The World Cities Summit Mayors Forum 2019 will be held in Medellín, Colombia, from 10 – 12 July. ## Chinese translation > Translation model: grok_cli ### 2018世界城市峰会拥抱由科技、创新与协作赋能的面向未来城市 在第六届世界城市峰会上公布的知识分享与新伙伴关系，为城市提供可持续解决方案、应对未来城市需求以及场所营造挑战与机遇铺平道路 新加坡，2018年7月20日 – 来自128个城市的130多位市长及城市领导人齐聚在新加坡举行的2018世界城市峰会，分享经验并探讨面向未来城市的挑战与创新。峰会签署了16项谅解备忘录（MOU）及协议，为城市与公共、私营及民间各界利益相关方之间的合作铺平道路。这一全球平台吸引了超过1,700名高级别与会者，为城市领导人、行业专家及顶尖学者提供了机会，共同探索城市如何通过更好的城市治理、规划、建设韧性及运用创新，变得更加宜居与可持续。 2018年7月8日至12日举行的世界城市峰会—新加坡国际水周—新加坡清洁环境峰会（WCS-SIWW-CESS）系列活动吸引了超过24,000名专业与会者（2016年超过21,000人），包括政府官员、行业领袖、城市专家、学者以及来自110个国家和地区的商界代表。今年，世界城市峰会超越了城市治理与宜居城市的宽泛主题，转向通过创新与协作拥抱城市的未来。峰会展示了应对城市紧迫挑战所需的综合城市解决方案，促成新的伙伴关系，并汇聚了公共、私营及民间各界的高层人士。 “在参与2018世界城市峰会的128个城市中，67个为首次参与，61个为再次参与。城市领导人、行业专家及顶尖学者的大力支持，充分证明世界城市峰会作为城市可持续性对话与创新的领先国际平台，其声望与吸引力与日俱增，”世界城市峰会—新加坡国际水周—新加坡清洁环境峰会联合发言人Michael Koh先生表示。 打造以人为本的城市：超越城市基础设施 除了结合良好治理并与市民互动，城市也在努力变得更具包容性、创造性与可持续性，并提供高品质生活。 2018年李光耀世界城市奖得主韩国首尔，在颁奖讲座上分享了如何运用智慧科技及市民的集体意见，应对快速城市化带来的问题。 获特别提及的四个城市——汉堡、喀山、泗水与东京——进一步展示了它们如何克服规划挑战，为市民打造充满机遇的城市。 市民参与以及与利益相关方的妥善沟通，对塑造以人为本且宜居的城市至关重要。除城市基础设施外，市民参与应融入所有规划，自下而上的流程也应纳入日常运作。大数据为在最细微层面作出决策提供了可能，向全体市民提供透明度，并确保无人被遗漏。 通过创新与协作拥抱未来 创新这一关键主题，因2018世界城市峰会期间宣布的合作与谅解备忘录而得到进一步强化。 “我们看到，世界城市峰会上，来自私营公司、国际组织及政府机构的城市规划与发展领域顶尖人才之间的协作日益加强，”Koh先生补充道。“城市治理、规划、韧性与创新的结合，将构成未来宜居且可持续城市的基础，使之能够在快速城市化中应对并满足城市的未来需求。” 峰会上公布的主要宣布事项及签署的伙伴关系详情见附件A。 下一届世界城市峰会将于2020年7月5日至9日在新加坡举行。2019年世界城市峰会市长论坛将于7月10日至12日在哥伦比亚麦德林举行。