City planning is a continual process of learning, adapting and improving — rather than pursuing a fixed blueprint.

"We do not assume that yesterday’s solutions will always work tomorrow," said Lawrence Wong, Singapore Prime Minister and Minister for Finance.

Speaking at the opening plenary of the World Cities Summit 2026, he added that cities succeed when they remain open to new ideas, while staying anchored to enduring principles.

Read also: Turning historic properties into vibrant, inclusive community spaces: World Cities Summit 2026

One urban leader who embodied this spirit was the late Liu Thai Ker, who led the planning of many of Singapore's new towns and advocated for liveability, usability, sustainability, and ecological responsibility.

To honour Liu's contributions and legacy, Wong on June 15 announced the launch of the Liu Thai Ker Distinguished Speaker Series.

Co-organised by URA and HDB, the new series will feature urban leaders sharing insights on community-centric design and sustainable city-building. Its inaugural session will be held later this year.

"We hope the series will inspire new generations of urban leaders and carry forward his legacy of thoughtful, people-centred city building," Wong said at the Summit.

Running from June 14 to 16, the World Cities Summit 2026 is co-organised by Singapore's Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC) and URA, and hosted by Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat. Delegates include government leaders, industry experts and academia.

Collaboration that strengthens communities

At the opening plenary, Wong noted that Singapore emphasises partnerships and ground-up community participation. He cited the city-state’s approach to an ageing population as an example.

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Rather than building exclusive retirement villages, Singapore is developing neighbourhoods under the Age Well SG national programme. The aim is for seniors to age in place in their own homes and communities, and still be able to access a wide range of services and support close to home.

"That depends on much more than physical infrastructure. It requires strong partnerships with healthcare providers, community organisations, caregivers and volunteers, so that we can build extensive social networks," Wong said.

Likewise, in his remarks at the event on June 15, Chee pointed out that the government’s partnerships with the people and private sectors have been key in preserving the city's heritage as well as in integrating nature and greenery into Singapore's urban landscape.

"Partnership is what makes the difference," Chee said.

In heritage planning, the government works closely with expert panels and community interest groups on ways to retain a site’s memories, which could be through the retention of built heritage or other heritage interpretation measures.

The same is true for large-scale developments such as Jurong Lake District (JLD) — Singapore's largest mixed-use business district outside of the city centre.

For JLD, the government lays the groundwork through upfront planning and infrastructure investments, but the private sector provides the energy, ideas and investments that will bring the district to life, Chee added.

Read also: Singapore urban planning pioneer, Dr Liu Thai Ker, dies at 87

Planning for multiple benefits

Moreover, every planning decision is an opportunity to achieve multiple benefits through clever design and innovative use of space.

This principle is at the heart of CLC's "Regenerative City" framework and publication — which urges cities to go beyond sustainability practices — launched at the Mayors Forum on June 14.

Green spaces can serve multiple purposes at the same time when they are planned and implemented well, Chee said.

For instance, Singapore's ecological corridors, planted with native trees and shrubs, support biodiversity while cooling and beautifying the streets.

"We are also harnessing the health benefits of our parks, by integrating therapeutic gardens, accessible pathways, and other features that support the mental and physical well-being of residents and visitors," he shared.

Managing Singapore's underground space

Chee delivered the opening and closing addresses at the Mayors Forum, touching on topics including homeownership, ageing well, and nature-based solutions such as green roofs and corridors.

Part of the World Cities Summit 2026, the forum drew mayors and city leaders from 103 cities.

Discussions focused on four key urban challenges: delivering affordable housing, managing urban water for resilience, rethinking urban energy transition, and providing reliable and efficient municipal services.

At the forum, Chee announced initiatives by URA and the Singapore Land Authority to improve the management of underground utilities.

These include putting in place an enhanced workflow to better coordinate underground utility network projects, so that potential conflicts can be surfaced and addressed before construction begins.

Another initiative is to develop a centralised submission portal for project teams to submit their utilities data with locational information after completing works. Over time, this will help to build more reliable shared records.

The portal is being trialled on selected projects, starting from this year, and it will be scaled up next year.

"In Singapore, which is a land-scarce country, making better use of underground space is critical to optimising our limited land resources," Chee said.

The management of underground utilities speaks to the complexity of managing a dense, mature city.

Chee noted that the network of utility infrastructure lying beneath Singapore requires careful planning and coordination.

However, as different utility owners plan, install and maintain their assets separately, conflicts may arise and sometimes only be discovered during construction. That may cause delays, additional costs and project disruptions.

And when contractors frequently need to carry out exploratory investigations before commencing their works, it can lead to repeated road openings — causing inconvenience to the public, increasing construction costs, and extending project timelines.

Preparing cities for an ageing, tech-driven world

Meanwhile, the Young Leaders' Symposium at the Summit on June 14 brought together 110 young leaders from around the world, with discussions centred on demographic and technological transitions.

These shifts are reshaping how cities work, who lives in them, and what the residents need.

Life expectancies are increasing while birth rates are fast declining. As societies age, the demands on housing, healthcare, transport and community infrastructure will change fundamentally.

"The compact, walkable, accessible city is no longer a design preference" but a necessity, said Syed Harun Alhabsyi, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Singapore’s Ministry of National Development and Ministry of Education.

At the same time, AI, robotics and automation are changing the nature of work and transforming cities.

To respond to these transitions in the near term, cities can redesign housing and community infrastructure for an ageing population.

"This involves integrating healthcare facilities, social spaces, and accessibility features into urban planning from the start, and very early on," said Syed Harun in his welcome remarks at the Young Leaders' Symposium.

And for the medium to long term, future-proofing cities requires addressing both demographic and technological changes through coherent, integrated urban strategies.

"That means that when we plan our cities, we want the 70-year-old and the 17-year-old to both live with dignity, with purpose, and with a strong connection," Syed Harun added.

The World Cities Summit 2026 spans three days, with key highlights including the Mayors Forum, Young Leaders’ Symposium, the Science of Cities Symposium, the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize, and an exhibition.

Panel discussions, masterclasses and presentations at the conference spanned a wide range of topics including the future of industrial ecosystems, financing green buildings, safe and inclusive communities, scaling urban climate finance, rejuvenating heritage properties, restoring nature for healthy cities, and attracting private capital to cities.

Several MOUs were signed during the Summit by CLC and other organisations — such as the Jakarta capital city government, Google Asia Pacific, the Urban Land Institute, Arup Singapore, and the Singapore-ETH Centre.

The MOUs are for knowledge sharing, capacity building, as well as to scale joint initiatives to address common urban challenges and promote sustainable urban development globally.

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