Event days: WED

We are seeing a surge of thoughtful, creative and more radical approaches to reinvigorating public spaces and reinventing urban experiences in cities around the world.

Urban environments influence the way we live, work, play and connect. Public realm is playing an increasingly important role in improving quality of life and addressing urban challenges. Finding innovative ways to activate public spaces, enrich public life and engage communities through a people-centred approach and design-led solutions is critical.

The transformation goes beyond re-designing our urban surroundings and infrastructure, as it inspires a rethink of policies and regulations and new ways to experience the cities in response to the changing lifestyles and values.

How brands and businesses embrace today’s healthy lifestyle trends and sustainable consumption also contributes to the making of liveable cities.

Forum 2 looks at how urban planners, designers, thinkers and businesses are shaping our cityscape and the ways we understand and reimagine our urban experience.

• How might we make cities more walkable, inclusive, playful and interactive for people of all ages and abilities?
• What are the challenges and opportunities in creative placemaking? How can policies and regulations be more responsive and adaptive to the new challenges and emerging trends?
• How to unlock the creative potential of people and communities and encourage public participation in the process?
• What data can tell us about our future? How can we use datasets in more meaningful ways for future planning and design of cities?
• What are the disruptive trends in business and tech that are shaping and redefining our urban experience?

The making of liveable cities is increasingly about the design of an urban and innovation ecosystem that connects, activates and transforms the city, people and the environment for quality of life in a holistic way.

Creating cities of tomorrow is a work in progress, engaging with individuals, businesses, organisations and governments to co-create and co-design to shape and invest in a better shared future.

From sustainable urban design to vibrant street life, from inclusive community to smart mobility, ‘liveability’ takes many forms and touches almost every area of our lives. It has become more important than ever to bring diverse sectors and disciplines together to make our cities more liveable and healthier by putting the needs, aspirations and the wellbeing of people at the core.

Forum 1 looks at the big picture of liveability, exploring new ideas, innovative solutions and bold provocations that shape the liveable cities today and of tomorrow.

• What makes a city liveable and extraordinary?
• Can ‘liveability’ be measured? Are the experiences transferable from one city to another?
• How might we rethink and innovate the city design, policy and planning, including land use, transport and urban health, to meet future challenges?
• What are the new opportunities and possibilities opened up by game-changing tech and data?
• How can we cultivate a culture for governments, businesses, organisations and citizens to find new frontiers and new ways to collaborate to create better services, products, health outcomes and, ultimately, better cities?