On 12 May 2026, the Global Cities Hub participated in the Annual Meeting of the Davos Baukultur Alliance, chaired by Switzerland and supported by the World Economic Forum. The Alliance brings together cities, governments, international organizations, architects, urban planners, developers, businesses and civil society around a shared objective: creating liveable places designed, built and cared for with long-term quality in mind.
At the heart of the Alliance’s work is the understanding that “quality” in the built environment goes far beyond construction standards or the economic value of real estate assets. Through the Alliance, quality is assessed against eight interrelated criteria: governance, functionality, environment, economy, diversity, context, sense of place and beauty. High-quality Baukultur therefore seeks to create places where culture can thrive, social connections can flourish, environmental sustainability is preserved, and people’s needs for health, safety, comfort and accessibility are met.
As highlighted throughout the meeting, the quality of the places we build shapes how people live, work and connect. Yet today, high-quality and liveable places are still delivered occasionally rather than systematically. Short-term economic and functional considerations continue to dominate planning and investment processes, often at the expense of social cohesion, sustainability, identity and long-term value. The result can be fragmented urban spaces that weaken community ties, diminish resilience and ultimately lose value over time.
The strategic session moderated by the Global Cities Hub focused on the systemic barriers that prevent quality from becoming the default approach in urban development, as well as on the changes needed to shift incentives across the entire value chain. Discussions emphasized that the challenge is not a lack of ambition, but rather the structures, rules and financing mechanisms that continue to reward short-term and lowest-cost approaches.
Several key challenges and opportunities emerged from the discussion:
- Regulatory frameworks were frequently identified as obstacles to high-quality Baukultur due to their complexity, rigidity and lengthy procedures. At the same time, participants stressed that regulatory flexibility can create important openings for innovation. A German example illustrated how regulatory exceptions enabled municipalities to be involved at the earliest stages of urban development projects, creating space for broader debates around quality criteria and long-term liveability.
- Public procurement systems were described as overly bureaucratic and too heavily focused on lowest upfront cost, often penalizing quality-oriented approaches. Participants nevertheless pointed to ongoing opportunities for reform, notably the current revision of the EU Public Procurement Directive, which could help integrate social, environmental and long-term value considerations more systematically into procurement processes.
- ISO Quality standards and certification systems were also discussed as both barriers and opportunities. While certification procedures are often perceived as burdensome, participants noted that once quality standards are adopted at national scale, they can create the conditions for replicability, comparability and scalability of high-quality projects.
- Data fragmentation and lack of shared evidence remain major challenges. Participants emphasized the need for stronger, evidence-based frameworks capable of demonstrating the long-term economic, environmental and social returns of high-quality Baukultur. The example of Ukraine’s digital platform mapping destroyed infrastructure during the early stages of the war illustrated how data systems can support coordination, planning and future reconstruction efforts.
A recurring theme throughout the discussion was the persistent tension between the “quality–time–cost” triad that shapes urban development and infrastructure delivery. Participants questioned whether these dimensions necessarily need to be treated as trade-offs, or whether systems could instead be redesigned to deliver quality without compromising affordability or delivery timelines.
The discussion highlighted several conditions necessary to enable such a shift: stronger political leadership, investors and donors willing to prioritize long-term quality outcomes, evidence demonstrating the broader returns of quality Baukultur, and cross-sector partnerships built on trust and mutual understanding from the earliest stages of projects. Participants also stressed the importance of changing institutional mindsets, reducing excessive risk aversion and fostering a greater culture of experimentation and learning. Such changes, they argued, are essential to unlocking innovation and making high-quality Baukultur the norm rather than the exception.
Photo credit @ Adrian Cuj, unsplash