Keynote Address by 2M Indranee Rajah at the World Cities Summit (WCS) Closing Plenary

It is a great privilege to be here at the closing plenary of the World Cities Summit. This is a special year, as it is the 10th edition of the WCS. We welcomed close to 4,200 participants from 263 cities.

Over these three days, there have been rich and engaging discussions on the challenges that our cities face, and solutions that can help us build more liveable, resilient, and sustainable cities. Let me start by reflecting on what we have heard so far.

Mayors' Forum

We opened the Summit with the Mayor's Forum, which brought together 112 Mayors and city leaders from 113 cities to discuss some common issues faced:

• Affordable Housing. Mayors called for bolder leadership, innovative financing partnerships, and more inclusive approaches to accelerate the delivery of affordable housing, recognising that access to a home is foundational to any liveable city.
• Urban Resilience. Mayors highlighted the need to deepen collaboration across public, private, and people sectors to tackle water resilience and the energy transition, because no single actor can solve these alone.
• Citizen-Centric Services. Mayors acknowledged that transforming municipal services to be more efficient, reliable, and responsive to residents is not just an operational imperative, but a matter of public trust.

Three Shifts

Across the plenaries, tracks, and symposiums this week, we have seen three shifts in how cities are thinking about urban challenges.

First, the shift from pilots to scale. A good example is the #FreetownTheTreeTown programme in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Launched in 2020, this is a "pay-to-grow" scheme where residents partnered with private and carbon markets to fund the planting and monitoring of trees and mangroves.

As of last year, 1.2 million trees have been planted, with digital tracking for all trees to monitor growth. Freetown is aiming for 5 million trees by 2030.

The question is no longer whether these solutions work, but whether we have the will and systems to take them to scale.
Second, the shift from sectoral to systems thinking.

Researchers from HafenCity University Hamburg have built a digital platform linking Geographic Information System, or GIS-based city models to resilience assessment metrics, bringing together climate, infrastructure, and social vulnerabilities into a single decision-making tool.

Tested in Ukrainian cities and now scaling across Europe, it is a compelling example of systems thinking in practice.

Third, the shift from government-led to whole-of-society.

The Young Leaders Symposium brought together participants from diverse backgrounds to develop practical and actionable ideas on how cities can navigate demographic and technological transitions.

These exchanges underscored the value of learning from different city experiences and provided a platform for emerging leaders to collaborate and take ideas forward in their own cities.

Three Areas of Partnership

This brings me to partnership, because none of these shifts could have happened without it. As we will be hearing in this closing plenary, partnership is essential as we confront one of the defining urban challenges of our time: which is how to make density and polycentricity work for our cities.

By 2050, 68% of the world's population will live in urban areas. The key question is how we can develop thoughtfully and prioritise residents' well-being. I offer three suggestions.

First, partnering our people. People are at the heart of our cities. I think all of us have acknowledged that over the past few days.

In Paris, Mayor Anne Hidalgo launched the city's Participatory Budget in 2014, through which residents could decide how a portion of the city's investment budget is spent. Several community projects have been realised through citizen votes since.

Mayor Hidalgo also launched the re-design of major public spaces such as Place de la Nation and Place de la Bastille through public workshops, giving residents a direct voice in shaping these spaces.

When people have a voice in how their city develops, they form stronger connections to the place.

Second, partnering businesses and innovators. The private sector brings capital, innovation, and the agility to scale in ways public agencies often cannot, while the research community deepens our capabilities and puts us at the forefront of technology to remain competitive. But this only works when governments set a clear direction and create the right conditions for participation.

Singapore's Jurong Lake District, or JLD, is a good example of polycentricity in practice, bringing jobs, homes, and amenities together in the western region of Singapore.

Planned as the largest mixed-use business district outside our city centre, the 410ha district will support about 100,000 new jobs and 20,000 new homes amidst a cluster of retail, entertainment, and waterfront green spaces.

The Government will launch a White site at Town Hall Link for tender next month, backed by upfront public investment in infrastructure, including a common services tunnel and an integrated network of pedestrian linkways and new rail lines.

The site has been sized and scoped following extensive industry engagement, to respond to market demand and provide the sufficient scale needed to catalyse the next phase of development for JLD.

This combination of clear planning parameters, industry engagement, and public investment creates the conditions for private sector participation and demonstrates how public-private collaboration can translate long-term plans into tangible outcomes.

Beyond individual developments, partnership also means investing in research and innovation that shape how our cities grow. I am pleased to announce the next phase of the Cities of Tomorrow Research & Development Programme, the Ministry of National Development's flagship research and innovation initiative for Singapore's built environment. We have secured $115 million to support three areas:

• Optimising how we use our land, sea, and underground spaces;
• Managing urban heat, noise, and resident's health and well-being as our city grows denser; and
• Advancing nature-based solutions to enhance liveability and help our urban ecosystems adapt to a changing climate.

These priorities reflect our commitment to build the tools and knowledge to manage density without compromising liveability. We invite international partners to work alongside our local researchers and companies, and tap on this funding programme together.

Last , partnering across borders. Solutions that work in one context can work in another, when adapted thoughtfully. As cities grow denser, one shared imperative is ensuring that nature is not crowded out.

Singapore's Landscaping for Urban Spaces and High-Rises, or LUSH programme, is one such example. LUSH requires developments to incorporate greenery features such as sky terraces, rooftop gardens, and vertical planting to replace greenery lost during construction. This ensures that as our city grows denser, nature still remains woven into our built environment.

Similar to Singapore's approach, Taipei City revised its regulations for greening in new buildings this year, introducing three-dimensional greening requirements for balconies and rooftops as a universal standard, and formally incorporating a Green Volume Ratio into law.

The WCS serves as an ongoing learning infrastructure. The connections, ideas, and partnerships formed here must extend far beyond these three days.

On that note, I am happy to share that a new line-up of members have been appointed for the WCS Knowledge Council, which will be chaired by Professor Cheong Koon Hean. Since its formation in 2022, the Council has shaped the WCS strategic agenda and provided valuable advice on strategic innovation and research initiatives, drawing on their wealth of expertise and experience in shaping liveable, sustainable and resilient cities. I thank the outgoing chair, Professor Lily Kong and members and look forward to the contributions of the new Council.

ACT Now!

As you head home, I want to leave you with three invitations based on our theme of "Liveable and Sustainable Cities: ACT Now!":

• Accelerate - Pick one initiative you are working on and move faster on it.
• Collaborate - Choose one connection made here and commit to deepening it.
• Transform - Begin one deeper shift in how your city operates, be it in how you plan, engage residents, or finance sustainable development.

To our organisers, partners, and every delegate who has contributed to this 10th edition of the WCS - thank you. I look forward to welcoming you back to the next WCS and hearing the stories of how you chose to ACT Now.