Kongjian Yu Spoke at World Cities Summit: Science of Regenerative Cities

2022 World Cities Summit (WCS) – Urban Science Symposium

The World Cities Summit (WCS) Urban Science Symposium was held on July 31, 2022, bringing together international researchers, urban management, and industry leaders to share scientific insights and methods for addressing urban challenges. The symposium focused on the role of complexity science and data analysis in understanding cities, using scientific and evidence-based approaches to achieve urban sustainability and regenerative development.

The biennial World Cities Summit is an exclusive platform for government leaders and industry experts to address urban livability and sustainability challenges, share integrated urban solutions, and build new partnerships. The summit is jointly hosted by the Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC) and the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) of Singapore, and includes events such as the WCS Mayors Forum, Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize, and the WCS Urban Science Symposium.

Symposium Focus:

This year's symposium featured two panel discussions:

Panel 1: Complexity Science for Adaptive and Sustainable Cities

Panel 2: Science of Regenerative Cities

Professor Kongjian Yu, Dean of the College of Architecture and Landscape at Peking University and Chief Designer at Turenscape, was invited to participate in Panel 2: Science of Regenerative Cities and gave a keynote speech.

Panel 1: Complexity Science for Adaptive and Sustainable Cities

We live in a "VUCA world" (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity), facing interconnected challenges such as climate change, demographic shifts, population aging, and changes in both local and global economic structures. Many unpredictable factors could alter the evolution of this VUCA world, making the planning of adaptive, livable, and sustainable cities a significant challenge. This panel emphasized an integrated systems approach, combining the expertise of complexity science with the contextual knowledge of urban settings to scientifically study the interdependencies of urban systems.

Panel 2: Science of Regenerative Cities

Cities are constantly growing and evolving to meet the demands of population growth. Sustainability has long been a goal of urban development, ensuring cities can meet present needs without compromising future generations. However, addressing current demands requires a paradigm shift in urban planning, design, and lifestyle. Simply minimizing environmental damage and repairing damaged systems is not enough. Instead, cities must shift toward maximizing ecological benefits, restoring ecosystems, and building self-sustaining, regenerative cities to improve both human and planetary health. Research using science, technology, and innovation to promote sustainable urban development is essential for fostering regenerative cities.