For the 5th edition of the annual Strong Cities 2030 (SC2030) Conference, KAS RECAP together with KAS’ Berlin headquarter invited local and international experts from 12 countries to Singapore. Against the background of the Covid-19 pandemic’s aftermath as well as global uncertainties in various sectors, KAS chose “Less is more” as this year’s topic: keeping in mind the need for both efficient use of scarce resources and deepened cooperation between cities worldwide to fulfill SDG 11 and the goals of the Paris Agreement, the Conference’s goal was to enable a dialogue on circular economy and decarbonization in the transport and building sector.
The Conference was opened with a keynote by a local Singaporean member of the SC2030 network, who introduced the city state’s specific development challenges over time and local solutions to topics such as housing, water supply and decarbonization. In the following two days, participants presented information and case studies of their respective municipalities in form of short impulse sessions, covering European, Latin American, African and Asian cities and contexts. The sessions were clustered around the Conference’s three main topics – Circular economy, Decarbonization of buildings, and Decarbonization of transport and mobility. Each thematic block was followed by a workshop session: divided into two working groups, participants discussed the insights they had gained during the previous impulse sessions and then worked on concrete questions to transfer learned approaches to their respective local contexts and to develop concrete solutions and policy recommendations.
The workshop sessions covered the decarbonisation of public transport and effective approaches to sustainable low carbon mobility; green buildings and how to boost the concept’s resilience in the face of comparably higher building costs and scarcity of specialized technicians; as well as Circular economy and how to promote a sustainable use of construction and demolition (C&D) waste materials.
Wrapping up the thematic inputs was a presentation on cities and climate change in the ASEAN region by a Singapore based researcher. Together with a field trip to local sites illustrating Singapore’s urban development, it provided valuable insights into the Asia-Pacific region’s specific challenges, especially for the international participants with low or no region specific experience.
The Conference concluded with two plenary sessions. Further steps towards more specific policy recommendations and the way forward for KAS’ Strong Cities 2030 concept were discussed, including potential topics and formats for future conferences. In the coming weeks, participants will write short articles based on the workshop results from this year's Conference. The easy-to-read publication will formulate policy recommendations and target local policy makers.
