The WEF Urban Transformation Summit brought together 100 senior leaders from business, government and civil society to explore the forces shaping the future of urban development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The discussions underscored that successful urban transformation requires more than individual projects or sector-specific solutions. It depends on a shared understanding of how development can generate lasting economic value, strengthen communities and create more resilient, attractive and competitive cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Held alongside the UN Forum of Mayors in Geneva, business executives, city representatives and UN officials examined shared challenges, emerging opportunities and possible solutions. A central theme was to establish a common language around the socioeconomic value of urban development, bridging the priorities of local and regional governments with the objectives of businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
GCH Co-Director Duong highlighted how rapid<\/strong> urbani<\/strong>s<\/strong>ation<\/strong> presents both significant challenges<\/strong>in terms of public services, but also<\/strong> opportunities<\/strong> to innovate, develop new markets and generate economic and social value. Cities in emerging markets are increasingly becoming innovation ecosystems, where local entrepreneurs develop affordable, practical solutions tailored to community needs. The challenge lies in scaling these innovations. City leaders can accelerate their adoption by providing real-world testing environments and leveraging regulation, procurement, data and public infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She also<\/strong> emphasi<\/strong>s<\/strong>ed<\/strong> the role of the UN Forum of Mayors<\/strong> in enabling cities to exchange experiences on the implementation of SDG11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and address common challenges, alongside States and UN entities. Strengthening connections between political leaders and the private sector is essential to translate local innovation into wider impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mayors and city representatives from five continents contributed perspectives that challenged participants to consider four interconnected themes – highlighting the need to integrate infrastructure, technology, governance and investment to strengthen productivity, resilience and economic performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Across all four themes, a common message emerged: successful urban transformation requires stakeholders to develop a shared understanding of value. Business leaders, city representatives and UN officials brought complementary perspectives to the discussions, exploring how economic performance, public priorities and social outcomes can reinforce one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The GCH was pleased to collaborate with the WEF on the Urban Transformation Summit to help leaders identify shared priorities and explore partnerships for development that is economically viable, socially valuable and resilient over the long term.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" GCH partnered with WEF to bridge the UN Forum of Mayors and the WEF Urban Transformation Summit. The UTS brought together leaders from business, government and civil society. The discussions underscored that successful urban transformation depends on a shared understanding of how development can generate lasting economic value and create more resilient, attractive and competitive cities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29390,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"0","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[199,756,757,348,215,283,758,346,558],"class_list":["post-29497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-cities","tag-economic","tag-economy","tag-fom","tag-forum-of-mayors","tag-ppp","tag-public-private-partnership","tag-un-forum-of-mayors","tag-world-economic-forum"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
Building a shared vision for urban transformation<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n