As cities re-invent themselves to compete for global talent, Singapore stands a good chance of staying ahead of the competition, the World Cities Summit on urban planning and conservation heard yesterday.
'In today's global economy, the competition is not between countries but between cities and regions,' said Alfonso Vegara, president of Fundacion Metropoli, a Spanish organisation for urban innovations.
Mr Vegara shared examples of cities such as Philadelphia and Bilbao embarking on strategic projects to build competitive advantages.
And according to him, Singapore has an edge on the competition because it is a city state.
'(Singapore) is really ahead because (it) has the capacity to make things happen,' he said.
'Most of the cities in the world of the size of Singapore are very fragmented - from the political point of view, from the administrative point of view.'
It is not just physical development that matters.
Mr Vegara identified Singapore's location and high governance standards as its unique strengths.
Singapore's urban landscape has been undergoing changes to support economic growth and a higher quality of life.
The recently unveiled Draft Master Plan, for instance, sets aside land for new commercial centres and more leisure destinations.
Singapore needs to take 'an environmentally responsible and sustainable approach to development', Urban Redevelopment Authority CEO Cheong Koon Hean said at the summit yesterday.
Mr Vegara said Philadelphia is a striking example of a city striving to attract talent.
According to him, it has around 80 universities - the highest concentration in the United States - yet was unable to retain talent.
This led Philadelphia to develop areas such as an avenue of technology and an avenue of the arts to enhance the city's vibrancy.
Cities looking to match up to competition should not count on achieving the same success by replicating projects from other places, Mr Vegara said.
Each city has its own distinctive profile, and strategic projects have to fit that, he said.
This article was first published in The Business Times on 25 June 2008.
