What Makes Cities Liveable and Loveable

Lecture details

What Makes Cities Liveable and Loveable

12 Febuary 2025
3.30 pm – 5.30 pm.
Level 49, North Tower, One Raffles Quay, Singapore 048583

2 BOA-SIA Pts, 2 SIP Pts, 2 SILA Pts.

Seats are limited and priority will be given to pre-registered guests. Please be seated 10 minutes before lecture begins. Due to seating capacity, walk-ins will not be entertained. Reception will be available from 5.30pm - 6.30pm.

Source: (left to right) Big Ben, London, Luke Stackpoole/Unsplash; Empire State Building, New York,

Lecture Video

Synopsis

As cities evolve, urban practitioners and policymakers face increasingly complex challenges in meeting the diverse needs of residents, businesses and visitors. Beyond creating functional spaces, cities of the future must also strive to enhance overall quality of life, and up the ante in providing well-loved places that add character and distinctiveness to cityscapes. This CLC lecture explores how the urban practice of creating liveable and lovable cities must be both a science – in how certain aspects liveability can be broken down and measured, and an art – where intangible elements like social interactions and urban design become instrumental in shaping the built environments we inhabit.

Join our keynote speaker and distinguished panel as they delve into what makes a city tick and thrive, to go beyond the brick-and-mortar façades of our cityscapes to uncover the ‘urban software’ and sense of place that truly defines great cities. The panel discussion will deliberate on how good practices of urban planning, design and management can meaningfully facilitate the “softer” aspects of urban life, to fostering better community interactions, social well-being and cultural vibrancy. Overall, this can lead to increased emotional attachment of the city by residents and its attractiveness to investors and visitors.

Resonance Consultancy will be presenting a new report focused on cities in the Asia-Pacific. A showcase of the most comprehensive evaluation of urban performance and perception in one of the world’s most dynamic regions. Covering a region that accounts for a third of global economic output, this report benchmarks cities across metrics that matter to residents, visitors, and investors alike. The report’s findings will serve as a valuable reference point for our panel discussion, illustrating how we can better measure a city’s liveability.

Resources

Lecture poster [PDF, 731 KB]

Lecture Report

Cities must balance meeting practical needs with creating distinctive, well-loved spaces. This requires looking beyond physical infrastructure to understand the 'urban software'—those intangible qualities that make cities truly remarkable and foster genuine connections with people. To do so, cities need robust methods to measure this complex interplay between tangible and intangible elements, using benchmarking approaches that evaluate both traditional performance metrics and people's lived experiences of urban spaces. This was the focus of the engaging discussion at CLC's lecture, featuring a distinguished panel comprising Mr Chris Fair, Ms Theresa Sheils, Mr Sebastian Ang, Mr Anupam Yog, and Dr Limin Hee, with Ms Ong Ker-Shing serving as moderator.

Benchmarking city performance

In his keynote address, Mr Chris Fair introduced Resonance's approach to benchmarking city performance, emphasising the integration of perception-based questions alongside traditional indicators. He highlighted three key perception questions in their benchmarking approach: where people would prefer to live, visit, and find the best job opportunities. He further shared that the contrast between these perception-based indicators and traditional performance metrics could reveal new insights, offering a more complete understanding of how cities truly function.

Finally, he noted that while cities appear physically unchanged, the way we use them has evolved significantly. Importantly, he observed a convergence in the factors that attract residents, visitors, and businesses to cities, reflecting a shift in the way we live, work and play. This in turn calls for a shift from siloed approaches to more integrated city planning and management.

Panel Sharing: Considerations for Liveability

The panel shared their diverse perspectives on creating cities that are both liveable and loveable. Dr Limin Hee introduced the Liveability Framework (LF), launched in 2024, which identifies three desired liveability outcomes: a Competitive Economy, Sustainable Environment, and High Quality of Life. She emphasised that while these outcomes form the foundations for liveability, the key challenge lies in carefully managing the complex trade-offs between them.

Similarly, Theresa Sheils highlighted the need to shift towards regenerative urban development, and the need to address both the appeal of cities and their pain points—particularly accessibility, affordability and "big city" problems like noise and crowd. Beyond the pain points, she emphasised the critical balance between urban growth and environmental sustainability, whilst integrating technology thoughtfully.

Presenting a different aspect, Sebastian Ang brought attention to the often-overlooked cultural dimension, particularly through a city's food heritage, noting how people are increasingly valuing city experiences. He emphasised that while infrastructure matters, cultural spaces and experiences contribute to the soul of the city and cultivate a sense of belonging.

Finally, Anupam Yog challenged if we needed to rethink the metrics. He suggested a deeper focus on how places make people feel and questioned whether cities needed to do less rather than more to become truly liveable and loveable.

Changing lifestyles and values

On the future of urban liveability, the panel discussed the reprioritisation of what people value. As Chris noted, people are increasingly valuing space, time, and outdoor recreation. This has resulted in the 'urbanisation of suburbs' and cities being turned 'inside out'. Sebastian also shared how evolving work patterns and desire for immersive experiences have shaped cities through hybrid concepts like co-working spaces and experiential dining. As such, cities require more mixed-use spaces that accommodate varied activities throughout the day.

Similarly, Limin highlighted the increased demand for exercise, recreation and nature access in cities post pandemic, and cities are responding to these needs in various ways. For instance, Barcelona is reclaiming streets for pedestrians and greenery, creating human-centric spaces, while Vienna's Pier 22 project offers public spaces for work and leisure, catering to those who can work from anywhere.

Rethinking Urban Spaces

The panel discussed how cities can better incorporate ‘fun aspects’, such as culture, food, and arts. Sebastian shared how projects like the transformation of an old school into New Bahru, a creative cluster of retail, F&B and other amenities, in Singapore, created novel experiences in everyday spaces. However, to inject fun into cities, Anupam highlighted that importantly, cities should create flexible systems that destigmatise failure by making it less costly and more acceptable, thereby encouraging innovation and creative risk-taking in urban spaces. Theresa further shared the importance of human-centric design, advocating for transformation of existing spaces rather than demolition and rebuilding.

Chris also questioned conventions about urban planning, suggesting we may have over-regulated our cities through strict zoning. He highlights Houston as an interesting case study - while being car-centric and having minimal zoning, its flexibility might position it better for future adaptation for evolving urban needs.

Measuring Future Liveability and Loveability

Lastly, the panellists also discussed the challenge of measuring liveability and loveability, which requires both quantitative and qualitative measures. Limin noted that while tangible indicators are important, they vary significantly across cities and there may be a need to consider the cultural context – including in the analysis of social media to capture diverse voices beyond English-speaking sources. Additionally, she highlighted the need to shift from output-based measuring systems to outcome-based ones, which link policies and planning to broader societal outcomes like health and social value, rather than simply measuring input factors.

Chris emphasised that the key lies in developing focused, locally relevant metrics that reflect community priorities. Theresa reinforced this by highlighting how indicators must consider multiple touchpoints across demographics - what works for men may not work for women, and what suits the elderly may not serve the young. Finally, Anupam stressed the importance of focusing on fewer, well-measured variables when assessing liveability. While this transition towards more nuanced measurement will take time, the panel agreed it was essential to engage stakeholders and to reflect the desired outcomes that make cities liveable and loveable for all.

About the Speakers

KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Chris Fair
CEO and President,
Resonance Consultancy

As Resonance’s President, Chris leads a global team in destination placemaking, branding, and marketing. Proficient in trend analysis, visioning, and city planning, he created the World’s Best Cities rankings for over 400 cities in 2016. A respected speaker on tourism, real estate, and urban development, he has also chaired the Urban Land Institute’s Travel Experience & Trends Council and teaches Placemaking at New York University.

MODERATOR 
Ong Ker-Shing
Director,
Lekker Architects

Ong Ker-Shing is a designer and educator, co-founder of Lekker Architects, and Associate Professor (Practice) at NUS Department of Architecture. She is a registered Architect, with Masters degrees in Architecture and Landscape Architecture from Harvard GSD. Shing was granted the prestigious Wheelwright Traveling Fellowship in 2002, included in the third edition of the “20 Under 45” series organised by URA, and at Lekker, won the President’s Design Award of the Year in 2015 for The Caterpillar’s Cove Childcare and Development Centre and again in 2023 for Hack Care: Tips and Tricks for a Dementia-Friendly Home. Lekker works to advance interdisciplinary approaches to inclusive design, and to establish Singapore as a leader in this emerging field. Shing sits on the Advisory Board of PSM, Singapore, and the Council of Singapore Institute of Architects.

SPEAKER
Theresa Sheils
Regional Managing Principal,
Gensler

Theresa is the Co-Regional Managing Principal of Gensler’s Asia Pacific and Middle East (APME) region. Previously, she spent 28 years in Gensler’s Washington, D.C. office, seven of which she spent as Co-Managing Director of that office, working on some of the firm’s most complex international architecture and interior design projects. She is known for being a strategic advisor, leading client and consultant teams in tackling the challenges facing our cities across the globe. Theresa is a proponent of sustainable design and is adept at developing high-performance design solutions that use leading technology to reduce energy use and mitigate negative effects on the environment.

SPEAKER
Sebastian Ang
Founder,
Mama Diam, Lou Shang, Synthesis and Amacha

Sebastian Ang is the visionary entrepreneur behind Mama Diam, Lou Shang, Synthesis and Amacha– four unique concepts blending Singapore’s heritage with modern dining experiences. Through his ventures, Sebastian reimagines the softer aspects of city living, fostering community, nostalgia, and cultural appreciation.

Dedicated to creating lovable spaces, he integrates food, ambience, and hospitality to elevate urban culture. His work showcases the importance of preserving traditions while innovating for contemporary audiences, making cities more vibrant and liveable through meaningful F&B experiences.

SPEAKER
Anupam Yog
Managing Partner,
XDG Labs

Anupam Yog is a pragmatic urbanist, researcher and creative strategist. Through his research and advocacy on placemaking for healthy cities, he seeks to develop a “Conscious Cities Index”, which explores the connection between community well-being and a city’s urban design. Yog is an avid practitioner of meditation, and initiated The Big Sit in 2020 - an intentional, slow growing social meditation movement - from Singapore.

SPEAKER
Dr Limin Hee
Director (Research),
Centre for Liveable Cities

Dr Limin Hee is Director of Research at Singapore’s Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC), a nexus and knowledge centre for liveable and sustainable cities, where she focuses on research strategies, content development and international collaborations. Under her leadership, CLC Research spearheads forward-looking studies that consider how cities can prepare for the future and thrive in the face of driving forces such as resource shifts, the push for net-zero cities, ageing societies, and new ways of live-work-play.

Her own research focuses on urban liveability and sustainability and their agenda for architecture, urbanism and public space. Her recent books include A City in Blue and Green: A Singapore Story (Springer: 2019), and Constructing Singapore Public Space (Springer: 2016).