Mayors, leaders pledge to make cities safe and sustainable

SINGAPORE — Mayors and city leaders from round the world have pledged to make cities safe, inclusive, resilient and sustainable, including ensuring flexibility in urban plans to adjust to changing socio-economic conditions over time.

More than 110 of them attended the seventh World Cities Summit Mayors Forum yesterday, held at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre.

The areas of action identified include using integrated plans, made for 15- to 50-year periods, to balance long-term sustainable development against short-term needs. Such plans would be implemented and evaluated while making efforts to tap innovations in technology for a better living environment.

Learning to work with multiple levels of government and strengthening urban governance with institutions and mechanisms that empower and include various stakeholders were the other action areas.

These key areas were identified as contributions to the upcoming United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) to be held in October. The conference aims to “reinvigorate” the global commitment to sustainable urbanisation and implement the New Urban Agenda, an outcome document that will be adopted at the conference.

During yesterday’s forum, government and industry leaders talked about the persistent urban problems cities face, with solutions to be found, for example, in building resilience against extreme weather and engaging youth in solutions that use technology.

In his opening address, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong noted the need for long-term planning for cities, as results do not happen overnight and need planning and systematic implementation over the years and over many terms of government.

Urban planning also requires constant innovation and research and development, which in Singapore was largely driven by the need to overcome its constraints, as seen from the new technologies and planning for water here, for instance, said Mr Wong.

The circumstances that led to Singapore’s independence, when the country was not expected to survive, created a certain national mindset that the world owed us nothing, said Mr Wong. This allowed Singaporeans to address problems and come up with solutions, such as moving quickly to acquire land and resettle people from villages to high-rise public housing.

As Singapore moves to the next phase of development, the country is at a different starting point, with a growing and better-educated population and higher expectations, among others. “But the same goal of wanting to make tomorrow’s Singapore better ... remains,” said Mr Wong. SIAU MING EN