Business leaders and policy-makers recently gathered at the World Economic Forum’s fourth annual Urban Transformation Summit to address the increasingly critical role of cities in today’s shifting geopolitical landscape.
Cities, which generate over 80% of global GDP, are pivotal in driving global growth and stability. Not only are they economic powerhouses, but also the burgeoning homes of the world’s population and vital hubs of talent able to address complex challenges.
“In a world often fraught with division, cities provide a beacon of light and hope for a better future where businesses, governments and communities can work together to not simply find common ground, but help address some of the most pressing global challenges,” said Jeff Merritt, Head of Urban Transformation at the World Economic Forum.
In many communities, the demand for city services frequently outpaces tax revenue. Private sector investment can help bridge this gap, with emerging markets poised to attract over $3.1 trillion in funding for renewable energy, public transportation, waste and water by 2030. Private sector know-how and collaboration are also critical for the sustained economic recovery and transformation of cities.
“If by 2050, 70% of us live in cities, and if less than a third of those cities have a climate and health plan, then by 2050 we have a massive amount of humanity that is flying blind in the face of climate and health challenges,” said Lauren Sorkin-Yeo, Executive Director of the Resilient Cities Network. “All city leaders must anticipate the nexus of climate and health and bring predictive capacity, tools and solutions into that space.”
“We need to put local communities at the forefront and remember that one size is not going to fit all,” added Mark E. Rose, Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Avison Young. “Many of the conversations that we have, seek out global answers to everything when, quite honestly, most of what we do is local. It’s regional, it’s by city or it’s by state.”
This year, the Global Partnership for Local Investment, an initiative of the World Economic Forum in collaboration with UN-Habitat, recognized three public-private collaborations at the summit for their ground-breaking work to accelerate green energy investment in Bristol (UK), empower entrepreneurs to support urban transformation in Monterrey (Mexico), and reduce congestion and vehicle emissions in Pittsburgh (USA):
- Bristol City Leap is a 20-year joint venture between Bristol City Council, Ameresco and Vattenfall Heat UK, aimed at reducing Bristol’s carbon emissions through low-carbon energy infrastructure. The initiative is projected to generate £61.5 million ($80 million) in social value, £55 million ($71 million) in local contracts, and over 1,000 local jobs, work placements and apprenticeships.
- DistritoTec is an ambitious urban regeneration project led by Tecnológico de Monterrey (Tec) in collaboration with the City of Monterrey and the local community that was initiated to address rising crime, population decline, economic stagnation and limited growth opportunities in communities surrounding the university. Over a 10-year period, DistroTec has attracted 18 billion pesos ($900,000) in private investment and 133 million pesos ($16 million) in public realm improvements across 24 neighbourhoods. The results are a 56% population increase, a 27% rise in new housing, a 69% reduction in uninhabited dwellings and a 40% increase in registered economic units.
- Smart Curbs is an automated curb management solution developed in collaboration between the City of Pittsburgh and Automotus to address the growing number of commercial vehicles on city streets that have increased emissions, congestion and safety hazards. The initiative, which uses private-by-design computer vision technology to enforce parking regulations, resulted in a 41% reduction in double parking, a 12 metric ton decrease in emissions per zone, and electric vehicle adoption in these zones outpaced national rates by 4.7 times.
In the lead-up to the summit, the World Economic Forum released a series of five new toolkits to help accelerate public-private collaboration to address pressing social, economic and environmental challenges in cities:
- Scaling Investment in EV Charging Infrastructure: A Policy Roadmap for Cities outlines key interventions that city governments can make to foster an attractive environment for private sector investment in electric vehicle infrastructure.
- Improving Social Outcomes in Urban Development: A Playbook for Practitioners provides policy recommendations, tools, criteria and best practices to help stakeholders involved in urban development projects create greater social value.
- Adaptive Reuse of Assets: A Model Policy for Cities helps cities prioritize existing built assets, which are vacant, underutilized, or stranded over new construction to reduce their carbon footprint and maximize community benefit in urban development.
- Implementing a Life-Cycle Approach to Infrastructure: A Policy Roadmap for Cities explains how cities can advance more sustainable, well-maintained and affordable infrastructure by adopting a holistic approach to financing, planning, construction and long-term maintenance of these projects.
- Nature Positive: Leaders’ Insights for the Transition in Cities highlights both the challenges and successes of integrating nature into the urban fabric, offering practical solutions that can be adapted to various cityscapes.
Cities consume over 78% of the world’s core energy and generate 70% of carbon emissions. Meanwhile, over 90% of urban areas are situated in coastal regions where the impacts of climate change have been most severe.
“We can build better communities in the world if we deliberately drive innovative technologies to respond to the climate challenges, said Mmamoloko Kubayi, Minister of Human Settlements for the Republic of South Africa. “Governments must create new strategies to procure innovative technologies and should be the early adopters of those technologies to support the market for innovative solutions.”
