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City Dialogues Vienna: What is the Value of Urban Resilience?

City Dialogues Vienna: What is the Value of Urban Resilience?

2 July 2025

09:00 AM - 3:30 PM

Vienna City Hall

Vienna, Austria

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City Dialogues Vienna marks the 4th edition of the signature series, and is the 2nd edition being held overseas. This year, in partnership with Urban Innovation Vienna (UIV), the Dialogue will serve as a platform for candid and solution-driven discussions among city leaders, industry experts, and scholars. The event also aims to generate practical and actionable recommendations that can serve as a stimulus and catalyst for positive change in urban development.

Notably, City Dialogues Vienna is a partner event of the Mayors Forum of the World Cities Summit (WCS) 2025, hosted by the City of Vienna and co-organised by the Centre for Liveable Cities, Urban Redevelopment Authority, Singapore, and UIV. SMU’s senior leadership will participate in Mayors Forum as speakers and moderators, further enhancing the University’s contribution to the discourse. SMU was a Patron Sponsor of WCS Singapore in 2022 and 2024.

 

Theme: What is the Value of Urban Resilience?

The risks associated with urban development in a climate-disrupted and a dynamic digital world are well known, and solutions that can reduce these risks abound. However, the actions that enable – or impede – these solutions vary from region to region and city to city. Hence timely discussion to deploy these actions by governments, corporates and communities is crucial.  

In this City Dialogues, we will explore the multifaceted value of resilience through various lenses, including: economic benefits, social equality, environment sustainability, public-private partnerships, innovation & technology, and more. Effective resilience strategies necessitate the integration of both ‘hardware’ – investment in robust, state-of-the-art infrastructure – and ‘software’ or ‘orgware’ – the capacity to adapt to new challenges, foster innovation and establish new partnerships.

This dialogue aims to illuminate how these elements interplay to enhance urban resilience amidst rapid, and often disruptive, change.

 

Track 1
Economic Benefits & Public-Private Partnerships
  • 1. How might investing in resilience reduce long-term costs and attract private investment?
  • 2. How can collaboration between governments, businesses, and communities build more resilient infrastructure and services?
  • 3. What are the different temporalities of resilience?
  • 4. What are the spatial variabilities of resilience within and between cities/countries?
  • 5. What roles do stakeholders from the public, private, and people sectors play?
Track 2
Social Equity & Environmental Sustainability
  • 1. How can we ensure that resilience protects vulnerable populations and prioritises inclusive development?
  • 2. How can resilient cities contribute to climate adaptation, the reduction of carbon footprints, and the preservation of natural resources?
  • 3. What are the different temporalities of resilience?
  • 4. What are the spatial variabilities of resilience within and between cities/countries?
  • 5. What roles do stakeholders from the public, private, and people sectors play?
Track 3
Innovation & Technology
  • 1. How can utilising data, AI, and smart systems maximise urban resilience and ensure future-ready cities and communities?
  • 2. What are the different temporalities of resilience?
  • 3. What are the spatial variabilities of resilience within and between cities/countries?
  • 4. What roles do stakeholders from the public, private, and people sectors play?

What is the Value of Urban Resilience?

Arising from the discussions at SMU City Dialogues Vienna, SMU released a White Paper “What is the Value of Urban Resilience?” in 2026. Authored by Professor Orlando Woods, the White Paper distilled key insights from the discussions into a deeper exploration of the value urban resilience creates, and for whom.

Read the White Paper here.

Who's Coming?

Associate Professor Anindrya Nastiti
Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering;
Secretary of Centre for Environmental Studies,
Institut Teknologi Bandung

Professor Andrew Karvonen
Professor of Urban Design and Planning,
Department of Architecture and the Built Environment,
Lund University

Associate Professor Cathy Oke
Director, Melbourne Centre for Cities;
Melbourne Enterprise Principal Fellow in Informed Cities,
Faculty of Architecture Building and Planning,
University of Melbourne

Associate Professor Dan Li
Associate Chair, Faculty Actions,
Boston University

Professor Deep Akash
Senior Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School,
Harvard University

Ms Fang Eu-Lin
Sustainability Lead,
PwC Singapore

Mr Hakim Ouansafi
Executive Director,
Hawaii Public Housing Authority

Professor Hyun Bang Shin
Professor of Geography and Urban Studies;
Head of Department, Geography and Environment, LSE

Professor Karen Chapple
Director, School of Cities,
University of Toronto

Mr Kirk Arthur
Head, Worldwide Government Solutions,
Microsoft

Professor Loretta Lees
Deputy Director, Climate and Ecological Transition Directorate,
Boston University

Professor Luca Mora
Professor of Urban Innovation,
Edinburgh Napier University

Professor Matti Siemiatycki
Professor of Geography and Planning;
Director, Infrastructure Institute,
University of Toronto

Dr Michelle Harrison
Global CEO,
Verian (London, UK)

Dr Non Arkara
Senior Expert in Smart City Promotion,
Digital Economy Promotion Agency (depa) of Thailand

Mr Pahala Mansury
Vice President Commissioner,
Bank Negara Indonesia

Dr Raffaele Della Croce
Co-Director,
Singapore Green Finance Centre

Associate Professor Shauna Brail
Director, Institute for Management and Innovation,
University of Toronto

Professor Shenjing He
Head of Department, Urban Planning and Design,
Faculty of Architecture,
University of Hong Kong

Associate Professor Wijitbusaba Marome
Associate Professor in Urban Development Planning and Policy Programme,
Faculty of Architecture and Planning,
Thammasat University

Keynote Speaker

Executive City Councillor for Climate, Environment, Democracy and Personnel, City of Vienna

 

Speaker

Permanent Secretary (Development), Ministry of National Development, Republic of Singapore


Panellists

Click to view profiles

Agenda

Agenda

  • 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM

    SMU City Dialogues Networking Evening

  • 08:30 AM

    Registration

    Refreshments will be provided

  • 09:00 AM

    Welcome Address

    Professor Alan Chan
    Provost, SMU
     

  • 9:10 AM

    Address

    Mr Melvyn Ong
    Permanent Secretary (Development), Ministry of National Development, Republic of Singapore
     

  • 9:15 AM

    Keynote Address

    Mr Jürgen Czernohorszky
    Executive City Councillor for Climate, Environment, Democracy and Personnel, City of Vienna
     

  • 9:30 AM

    Roundtable Discussion

    Moderator
    Prof Orlando Woods
    Director, SMU Urban Institute
     

  • 10:30 AM

    Coffee Break

  • 11:00 AM

    Roundtable Discussion (Continuation)

  • 12:00 PM

    Lunch

  • 1:00 PM

    Parallel Dialogue Sessions

    Track 1: Economic Benefits & Public-Private Partnerships
    Led by Prof Winston Chow

    Track 2: Social Equity & Environmental Sustainability
    Led by Dr. Johannes Lutter

    Track 3: Innovation & Technology
    Led by Professor Orlando Woods
     

  • 3:00 PM

    Wrap-up and Sharing

    1. Professor Winston Chow, Professor of Urban Climate, SMU
    2. Dr Johannes Lutter, Head of Strategic Partnerships and International Affairs, UIV Urban Innovation Vienna


    Presentation of Token of Appreciation
    Group Photo

  • 4:00 PM

    Site Visits

    • Wien Museum: Vienna from Past to Present
    • Karl Marx Hof Housing Estate: Affordable Housing
       

  • 7:00 PM

    Traditional Viennese Dinner

  • 08:45 AM - 11:30 AM

    Site Visit

    Seestadt Aspern: City of Tomorrow 

  • 12:15 PM

    Opening Lunch

    For Mayors Forum attendees

  • Media Enquiries

    newsroom@smu.edu.sg

  • Event Enquiries

    citydialogues@smu.edu.sg

  • Collaboration Enquiries

    corpcomms@smu.edu.sg

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