Covid-19 presents once-in-a-generation opportunity to reimagine cities of tomorrow: DPM Heng

THE Covid-19 pandemic has presented a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reimagine cities of the future that have greater resilience, sustainability and liveability, Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said on Monday.

Speaking at the World Cities Summit, Mr Heng said cities thrive when they are part of a global network and efficient supply chains, but the linkages also make them vulnerable to disruptions, such as the pandemic.

"The pandemic has also exposed the lack of crisis preparedness, with many cities experiencing a severe crunch in healthcare capacity. Cities of the future need to be resilient, besides being efficient. We will need to review our planning assumptions and infrastructure needs," Mr Heng said in his keynote at the hybrid event.

While Covid-19 will fade at some point, the climate crisis will remain for generations, he said, noting that the pandemic is a sharp reminder that countries must work together to better respond to such complex global challenges.

More broadly, Covid-19 has reinforced the value of building liveable cities, he said, and this goes beyond resilience and sustainability.

"Liveability is fundamentally about people - enabling people to flourish, and improving their quality of life," said Mr Heng.

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This includes fair and inclusive access to basic necessities, such as clean water, sanitation and affordable housing, as well as the good redesign of spaces, including indoor and common spaces, to enhance the health and well-being of residents, he said.

He also offered three suggestions on how to build more resilient, sustainable and liveable cities of tomorrow.

First, innovation is key to pushing the next bounds of liveability and sustainability for urban living, he said, adding that there is a need to explore new possibilities in how cities are planned and run.

For example, Singapore has been building a "polycentric" city even before Covid-19, which means having multiple regional centres instead of a single central business district, he said.

Another example is a project called "Cooling Singapore", which taps a US$19 billion Research, Innovation and Enterprise plan for Singapore's research and development efforts, to develop solutions to reduce urban heat through technology such as cool paints and reflective glass coatings.

Second, investment is key, he said, noting that there had already been an infrastructure gap in many cities even before Covid-19.

With structural changes accelerated by Covid-19, there is a need to speed up investments, including in digital infrastructure, social infrastructure, greener buildings and cleaner energy sources, he said.

This means improving the flow of capital across borders to benefit communities in Asia and beyond, while also catalysing green financing.

Finally, he said there is a need to better integrate global efforts to build on one another's strengths to create a more sustainable and liveable future.

He noted that Covid-19 has shown how interdependent and interconnected the world is and why global cooperation is critical.

"For example, as the digital economy grows, we should collectively expand digital trade by harmonising standards and enabling trusted data flows across borders," he said.

"To build a more resilient world, we will also need to better facilitate supply chain linkages through digitalisation and a 'single window' for the movement of goods."

By working in partnership, he said cities can amplify their growth and innovation efforts and build on one another's strengths.

This can be done by building networks of collaboration to prototype ideas across different contexts, and to enhance connectivity among cities, he said.

One example is the Smart City partnership between Singapore and Shenzhen to strengthen digital collaboration and connectivity.

Another example is the Global Innovation Alliance which connects Singapore to innovative cities around the world.

"We hope that Singapore can play a useful role as a 'Global-Asia node', as a gateway for cities around the world ... to explore opportunities in Singapore, and Singapore to serve as a launching pad for cities in Asia to expand into global markets," he said.

"It is also this same spirit of cooperation and learning that platforms such as the World Cities Summit seek to harness."