SMU City Dialogues (CD) Vienna

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒆 𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒖𝒓𝒃𝒂𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆? At SMU City Dialogues (CD) Vienna, we convened urban scholars, policymakers and practitioners to explore this question together.

Co-hosted with UIV Urban Innovation Vienna and held as a partner event of the World Cities Summit Mayors Forum 2025, the 4th CD welcomed 100+ participants from 30 cities across 20 countries, representing 25+ universities and 35 organisations.

SMU Provost Prof Alan Chan opened the event by urging all to reflect about resilience not only in terms of recovery and robustness, but also as a regenerative and restorative capacity.

Mr Melvyn Ong, Permanent Secretary (Development), Ministry of National Development Singapore, highlighted shared aspirations between Vienna and Singapore to build cities that are not only well-run, but also deeply human.

Mr Jürgen Czernohorszky, Executive City Councillor of Vienna, delivered a keynote that grounded the day’s dialogues. 

💬 The roundtable panel discussion brought together diverse perspectives from: Eng Hwee Lim, Urban Redevelopment Authority of Singapore (URA); Cathy Oke, Melbourne Centre for Cities; Madreiter Thomas, City of Vienna; Phang Sock-Yong, SMU; Kirk Arthur, Microsoft; Hakim Ouansafi, Hawaii Public Housing Authority; Eu-Lin Fang, PwC Singapore; and Eric Christian Pedersen, Nordea Asset Management.

In the closing session, Prof Winston Chow, IPCC WGII Co-Chair and SMU Urban Institute (UI) Pillar Lead (Urban Infrastructure), and Prof Orlando Woods, Director of UI joined Dr Johannes Lutter, Senior Urban Planner, UIV to distill key insights:

“Resilience isn’t just about surviving, it’s about thriving. We need to align financial systems with social goals, build trust through good governance, and empower communities to shape their own future.” - Winston

“It’s not about being a smart city. It’s about being a #SmartEnoughCity. Smart enough relative to the context, the specific problem we are trying to solve with the technology that we have.” - Orlando

“Given our limited resources, it is essential that we take targeted action - focusing in particular on those who are most vulnerable...we must restore agency to communities." - Johannes

We were also honoured by the presence of delegates affiliated with the Urban Institute, including: Shauna Brail, University of Toronto; He Shenjing, The University of Hong Kong; Loretta Lees (MAE, FAcSS, FRSA), Boston University – all UI's Visiting Faculty, and Luca Mora, Edinburgh Napier University, UI's collaborator and seminar speaker.

Thank you all for co-creating a space of meaningful global exchange. These insights will shape the upcoming 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫.

The Urban Institute remains committed to fostering cross-sector, cross-border conversations to build more inclusive, sustainable and future-ready cities.