+ Theme

According to the United Nations Population Fund, more than half of the global population live in towns and cities, and this number will continue to swell to about 5 billion by 2030. Asia is experiencing an unprecedented rate of urban growth, facilitating the development of “Smart Cities” that make extensive use of technologies to improve their Citizens’ quality of life while sustaining growth. What do “Smart Cities” and “Smart Citizens” entail and what do they imply for Asia?

+ Overseas Leg

AUS 2016 collaborated with 5 overseas host universities in the ASEAN region, with participants exploring the pertinent technological, institutional and social issues related to “Smart Cities”. These issues include the difficulties in managing stakeholders with diverse interests when creating “Smart Cities”, citizens’ welfare, and their access to technology. Participants also looked beyond “Smart Cities” as mere technological fixes and delved deeper into developing “Smart Citizens” which attempt to adopt a more participatory approach towards “Smart Cities”.

Overseas Host Universities:

• Mahidol University
• Universitas Airlangga
• Bandung Institute of Technology
• Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
• Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City

+ Singapore Leg

In the Singapore Leg of AUS 2016, participants attended the World Cities Summit 2016, co-organised by the Centre for Liveable Cities and the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Singapore. The Design Thinking Framework was also imparted to participants to guide them towards accomplishing the Summit’s deliverables. Leveraging on Smart Cities as a focal point for discussion and idea generation, AUS 2016 instilled in future leaders a better appreciation and understanding of the multidisciplinary approaches to managing “Smart Cities” and their consequences in our region today and in the future.