By 2050, around three quarters of the global population is expected to live in cities – but much of the necessary infrastructure to accommodate this has yet been built.  City planners worldwide therefore need to rapidly scale up infrastructure to cater for this rising urban population, who will require ready and affordable access to food, energy, water, transport and housing, among other services.

Achieving this will not be easy.  Most infrastructure projects take 10 to 15 years to develop, while many cities will double in size within the next decade alone. Depending on their stage of growth, cities also grapple with challenges such as unemployment, an ageing population, congestion, pollution, resource scarcity and rising inequality. Growing global concerns on climate change have also put increasing pressure on political leaders to restrict their country’s carbon emissions and to transition to a low-carbon economy. This December, the world’s governments are expected to ink a global treaty to legally curb greenhouse gas emissions at the UN climate change summit in Paris.

Against these global trends, sustainable urbanisation is increasingly seen as an imperative – a development paradigm that is not only economically productive, but also environmentally sustainable, socially cohesive, and resilient to climate change and other disasters.  How will policymakers achieve this?  How will they balance the tension between pursuing growth and ensuring sustainable urban development?  Are governments capitalising on low-carbon, green growth models to create new economic opportunities?  This opening dialogue will discuss policy dilemmas faced by city leaders, and how they resolve these to build sustainable cities.

The world is in an unprecedented period of urbanisation.  As people migrate in masses to urban areas and city populations grow, far-sighted and integrated planning can ensure cities are developed sustainably.  Not only does this result in more liveable and attractive urban centres, it also substantially reduces the costs of accommodating the rise in urban populations.  A recent UN Global Compact-led report found that developing cities in a compact, connected and environmentally-sustainable manner could potentially reduce the capital costs of infrastructure investment by 6% or a staggering US$3 trillion, between now and 2030 due to economies of scale.

Such cities also enjoy other knock-on benefits, including energy savings, higher productivity and lower healthcare costs.  In addition, where dense and connected cities allow commuting needs to be met by an efficient public transport system, walking or cycling, this not only reduces congestion and pollution, but also encourages social connectivity. Private developers can in turn benefit in such cities, since more space can be freed for housing, green spaces and other developments – which also enhances a city’s attractiveness to buyers.

To achieve such cities, an integrated, holistic approach to planning is required.  Cities also need to foster inclusive societies and provide the structures necessary to integrate a wide spectrum of social groups. Policies that provide affordable housing not only facilitate this social integration, but also limits the occurrence of slums which typically lead to social ills like poverty and disease.  What are some successful projects that embody sustainable urban development?  How will the public sector work with private developers to build a compact, connected, green and socially cohesive city? This panel will explore the roles of both the public and private sectors in sustainable urban development, and discuss possible investment opportunities in today’s rapidly-urbanising world.

Today, some 55 per cent of the world’s population live in urban areas. The United Nations projects that this will increase to 66 per cent by 2050, with 2.5 billion people being added to urban populations by then – 90 per cent of this increase will be concentrated in Asia and Africa. Over the next two decades, the OECD estimates that some US$40 trillion will be needed for infrastructure investments globally. This creates huge opportunities for companies and financers in both private and public sector infrastructure development, such as electricity grids, power stations, water supply and treatment plants, roads and railways, bridges, airports, telecommunications networks, schools, hospitals, and more.

While funding of such projects have traditionally been the responsibility of regional or national governments, multilateral organisations and the private sector have an increasingly important role to play. Private capital provides more than just funding to projects, as it also adds invaluable knowledge and experience, as well as accountability. The landmark UN Third International Conference on Financing for Development in July also highlighted the importance of mobilising from a diverse range of players financial and technical resources for development. The Conference also emphasised the need to strengthen global partnership for financing sustainable development – that is focused on both people and the environment.

Amid competing priorities, how should governments allocate public funds to urbanisation projects? How will they ensure that these projects are sustainable? What are the challenges and opportunities in attracting private capital? What are some successful models of public-private collaboration? This panel will focus on the role of public-private partnerships in financing sustainable development, including the pitfalls of locking capital into unsustainable long-term projects, as well as the emergence of sustainable investing.

Cities are massive consumers of energy and resources, comprising complex systems that power both physical and social infrastructure including national grids, water and sewerage management systems, transportation and logistics, buildings such as homes, offices, schools, hospitals, and more.

A McKinsey Global Institute report has found that just keeping pace with projected global GDP growth will require an estimated US$57 trillion in infrastructure investment between now and 2030.  As urban populations grow, pressure is mounting on city leaders to find rapid solutions to infrastructure delivery and to mitigate its impact on the environment.  This is even as the systems powering it are undergoing changes on an unprecedented scale.

For example, conventional power systems built for large-scale fossil fuel generation are coming under increased scrutiny due to global challenges such as climate change, dwindling natural resources, energy price volatility and geopolitical concerns.  Future infrastructure will have to be smart, responsive, and resilient, in order to optimise consumption, integrate clean energy sources, increase delivery efficiency, as well as withstand future shocks and disasters.

The same McKinsey report states that improving infrastructure productivity could save the world US$1 trillion a year.  Smart city solutions are hence increasingly seen as the way forward, and apart from energy-related applications, also have tremendous potential in improving the delivery of safe drinking water and waste recovery. As the infrastructure and utilities landscape undergo radical change, new opportunities for businesses will emerge .

Which technologies and business models will come to dominate the infrastructure industry?  How will city leaders decide on the innovations that will help better deliver infrastructure services, while improving the quality of life for its citizens?  What factors will determine the success of long-term, sustainable infrastructure projects?  This discussion will focus on the challenges and opportunities facing policymakers and business leaders in building sustainable and resilient infrastructure for cities.

In the past decade, technology has evolved at such a tremendous speed and radically changed the way we live and interact with each other. Driverless transport systems, multi-use sensors that track everything from energy usage to human traffic, hyper-intelligent buildings, smart city apps and more will become permanent fixtures in urban centres of the future.

These smart urban solutions will enable cities to save resource consumption, slash carbon emissions, increase their safety and reduce the need for inefficient and unnecessary human labour. Emerging technologies such as in the fields of robotics, 3D printing and the Internet of Things will play a key role in the shaping sustainable cities of the future.

At the same time, conventional business and economic models are undergoing deep-seated transformation; companies globally are re-thinking the “take-make-dispose” industrial processes and embracing the concepts of the circular and sharing economy. These involve reorganising manufacturing and product design so that materials are returned to the value chains, prolonging product lifespans through repair and refurbishment, and viewing consumption through the lens of temporary services rather than permanent ownership.

With these forces shaping the future, what will our cities look like in the decades to come? Which new economic and social models will dominate our societies? What do companies and governments have to do to thrive in this new innovation economy?  How should we invest now to ensure a sustainable, resilient future? This forward-looking panel will discuss the strategies that we need to adopt, and look at some possible scenarios of urban living in the cities of tomorrow.