The Smart Cities Professional Exchanges (PE) was developed under the US-ASEAN Smart Cities Partnership (USASCP), with programmes running from 2022 to 2024. Under the PE’s broad domain, Singapore and the US jointly organised professional exchanges on specific themes such as circular economy and waste management, water management, sustainability and cybersecurity. These efforts will facilitate closer collaboration and knowledge sharing between Singapore, the US and ASEAN countries through the ASEAN Smart Cities Network (ASCN).
Under the Circular Economy and Waste Management focus area, the Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC) curated a programme titled “Circular Waste Management in the Urban Context” to impart more in-depth knowledge to cities that would empower them to lower carbon emissions and be more sustainable in their long-term developments, be it through more robust urban governance and upscaling green digital solutions as well as leveraging conventional wisdom. In doing so, their learnings included principled approaches and practitioner-based know-how on waste management, urban governance, national legislature related to these domain areas and community efforts in the context of resource circularity. Held from 3-7 October 2022 in Singapore and 10-14 October 2022 in the United States, the course was delivered to 14 mid-to-senior-level ASEAN officials through a mix of online self-paced learning and live session.
Highlights of the Programme:
- Curriculum: Urban Governance, Waste Management, Resource Circularity, Legislation Framework, Innovation & Technology, and Sustainable Infrastructure Financing.
- Learning Methods: Included independent study of materials such as the Singapore Liveability Framework and Singapore Green Plan 2030, along with interactive lectures and Q&A sessions. Site visits were organized to provide hands-on experience and a coffee-table discussion (informal moderated panel session) was included to feature candid discussions with industry experts, consultants, and NGOs.
The programme enriched cities in their knowledge to reduce carbon emissions and advance sustainable development through knowledge sharing and robust urban planning.