Nicholas Brooke Chairman , Professional Property Services Group, Hong Kong

Professor Paul James Director, Global Cities Institute and Director, United Nations Global Compact Cities Programme

Dear Delegates

We would like to extend a warm welcome to the 3rd Annual Sustainable Cities conference. Delegates will gather from around the world to address a basic question of the human condition: How will the future sustainability and liveability of cities be best enhanced by good practices now?

About half the world’s population already lives in cities and generates 80% of greenhouse gas emissions.  By 2050, 70% of the world’s population will live in urban areas.  Increasing concern about the impact of growth has prompted responsible governments to address such challenges through the implementation of policies and initiatives designed to conserve resources, and reduce both waste and greenhouse gas emissions.

However, the heavy lifting has fallen primarily on city leaders and we will hear at the conference how cities around the world are responding to the challenges of sustainable development by adopting what is in effect a “living laboratory” approach such as energy and waste management, the use of renewables, the introduction of electric vehicles and many other measures impacting on the quality of life of their citizens.

The Sustainable Cities conference has established itself in a very short time as one of the foremost urban forums in the global calendar. This is based on a number of considerations:

• It is a truly global summit with delegates from all over the world.
• It is an engaged conference that connects practitioners, planners and policy-makers and in exciting dialogue.
• It is a forum that draws people from very different spheres of activity, all of which are basic to making things happen—government, business and civil society.
• And it is a broadly conceived conference that treats sustainability and liveability as crossing the social domains of economics, ecology, politics and culture in complex ways.

The themes of this conference are important, immediate and pressing. We will learn about current best thinking and hear about inspiring urban practices; and, perhaps best of all, we will talk with each other about what can be done.

We look forward to your participation in Singapore.

Sincerely

Nicholas Brooke Chairman , Professional Property Services Group, Hong Kong

Professor Paul James Director, Global Cities Institute and Director, United Nations Global Compact Cities Programme