Panel
The Global Quest to Reinvent the City | Global Conference 2025
Milken InstituteMaggie Switek, Mikkel Bülow-Lehnsby, Thomas Heatherwick, Matthew Kahn, Erin L. Murphy
- Global urban population is projected to double over the next 25 years, with seven out of ten people expected to reside in cities by 2050.
- Southeast Asian cities are expanding at an incredible rate while confronting rising sea levels, heat, sinking ground, flooding, cyclones, typhoons, and drought, creating an unprecedented demand for resilient infrastructure and capital following the U.S. withdrawal from certain energy transition plans.
- The industry is anticipated to shift from emotionally disconnected, short-lived commercial structures with an average 40-year lifespan toward "thousand-year buildings" that address carbon emissions, mental health, and human emotions.
- A societal mindset shift regarding building design and visual complexity is estimated to take 30 to 40 years, moving away from "ultra-processed architecture" toward designs that offer "nutrition for mental health."
- Technology, specifically AI and big data, is expected to enable "leapfrog" development in places like Indonesia and Vietnam, model climate risks, optimize energy mixes, and utilize dynamic pricing to discourage inefficient building designs.
- Future building strategies aim to incorporate carbon sinks, increased biodiversity, and standardized materials to decarbonize supply chains, with digitization projected to reduce costs and increase efficiency.
- Urban planning forecasts a transition toward "work-play-live" districts that integrate residential, commercial, and recreational spaces, utilizing "upzoning" and better design to create safer, higher-quality neighborhoods.
- Public transport infrastructure is predicted to be redesigned with dignity and fascination to serve diverse demographics, including wealthy residents, to counteract car-centric sprawl and promote human-scale environments.
- Dynamic pricing mechanisms for roads, electricity, water, and building permits are expected to nudge the market toward better design, lower transaction costs, and the revitalization of vacant land in declining cities.
- Governance challenges regarding long-term infrastructure projects may necessitate strong, centralized decision-making models to prevent delays, contrasting with the disconnect between developer incentives and public value.
- Despite facing risks such as climate change and political shifts, cities are viewed as resilient hubs for ideas, with optimism that good business outcomes can be achieved through human-centric design and environmental stewardship.