Last week, we hosted the Future Cities Symposium: Science, Design, and Policy for Urban Transitions at the National Design Centre and CREATE Tower. The two day event brought together a truly international and interdisciplinary group of scholars, practitioners, policymakers, and industry leaders. Highlights included keynote contributions from Susan Parnell, Stephen Goldsmith, Masanori Kobayashi, Inhee Kim, Dirk Sijmons, Leonard Ng, and Vo Trong Nghia, whose diverse perspectives set the stage for rich debate and exchange.
We were heartened that the event brought together not only the FCL community, but also over 200 attendees, representing organisations from at least 11 countries, with backgrounds across science, design, engineering, and governance. This is a testament to the relevance of FCL’s mission, but more importantly, it shows that there is strong public interest in the work that we do. We hope that this inspires everyone to be confident in their research, and to further develop both our work as well as how we communicate it to the world.
A heartfelt thank you goes out to all of our investigators, researchers, and collaborators for their contributions — from preparing presentations and exhibitions, to moderating sessions, engaging with our guests, and ensuring that the event ran smoothly. This was a collective effort that reflected the strength of our community and its commitment to advancing knowledge for more liveable, sustainable, and resilient cities.
Looking ahead, we are pleased to share the call for submissions for the upcoming issue of the International Journal on Smart and Sustainable Cities (IJSSC), focusing on policy papers. This is an opportunity to extend the symposium’s momentum by sharing insights on how our research can inform governance, regulation, and implementation strategies. We warmly encourage colleagues to submit their work and help shape this important conversation at the intersection of science and policy.
With appreciation,
Thomas, Sri, Sentill, Sean, and Joshua
