Urban Transformation Summit spurs action to reimagine cities

“By embedding climate adaptation into the core of economic strategy, we can protect communities while creating more competitive, investable cities.”

The World Economic Forum, together with the Government of Karnataka, Greater Bengaluru Authority, and a coalition of public and private collaborators, announced at the summit the launch of Yes/Bengaluru. The initiative is inviting start-ups to deploy and scale solutions that address the city’s most pressing challenges. Key collaborators include Anthill Ventures, AWS, Cisco, Deloitte, Johnson Controls, Rainmatter Foundation and Salesforce.

Other initiatives and alliances launched at the Summit include:

• A new toolkit for innovation ecosystems, drawing on lessons from Detroit, Nairobi, Singapore and Tokyo, was launched, outlining how governments and investors can foster equitable entrepreneurship and connect local innovation to global opportunity
• Seven global cities – Bengaluru, Bogotá, Boston, Copenhagen, Monterrey, New York, and Tokyo – sparked a new phase of collaborative innovation by connecting their innovation districts into a global ecosystem that supports, scales and shares transformative solutions
• Ten new organisations – including Paris-Saclay, Miami Innovation Authority and NEC – pledged to uphold the principles of good innovation as part of the Innovation Impact Alliance.

Tourism and resilience 

Global tourism and destination leaders called for stronger cross-sector collaboration across infrastructure, finance, technology, skills and policy to unlock the $11 trillion travel and tourism sector’s potential as a driver of resilient, sustainable and inclusive growth. New efforts were outlined to accelerate investment and innovation that transform destinations into engines of sustainable growth, job creation and community resilience.

“Tourism should celebrate the soul of a city, not consume it,” said José Antonio Donaire, commissioner for sustainable tourism management, Barcelona City Council. “Through cross-sector collaboration, we’re proving that sustainable tourism can protect heritage, strengthen communities and power a more inclusive, creative urban economy.”

City officials and executives from global sports organisations and major companies spanning finance, media, technology, infrastructure and consumer goods came together to develop a shared vision for leveraging sport and major events as engines of innovation and community impact. In parallel, a growing coalition of public and private stakeholders, including Mastercard, AB InBev, and the City of Washington DC, announced plans to establish a global community to advance 24-hour economies that promote economic growth and community wellbeing.

Six global cities – Kuala Lumpur, Medellín, Montreal, Nairobi, San Francisco and Utrecht – were announced as the first cohort of pioneering cities under the Davos Baukultur Alliance, a global coalition dedicated to advancing high-quality, people-centred urban development. The initiative positions these cities as real-world testbeds and beacons of innovation, demonstrating how thoughtful design, planning and governance can drive vibrant communities and resilient local economies.

“By breathing new life into underutilised spaces, Kuala Lumpur demonstrates how heritage, sustainability and innovation can move forward together,” said Zaliha Mustafa, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories), Malaysia. “This is the pathway to greater global competitiveness and liveability.”

World Economic Forum partners and Davos Baukultur Alliance members, including KPMG, Velux Group, Bankers Without Boundaries, UN-Habitat, Habitat for Humanity International, C40 Cities and the World Cities Culture Forum, announced new commitments to help scale these efforts, from embedding long-term value in financing models to unlocking private capital for urban renewal and strengthening global peer-learning networks.

Complementing this work, new frameworks and partnerships were unveiled to embed quality and liveability into the next generation of urban development:

• In collaboration with Imperial College London and the World Economic Forum’s Centre for Nature and Climate, a systems-based model for water innovation and accompanying working group were announced, now being tested in cities from Accra to Valencia to strengthen governance and accelerate circular water solutions
• A guide to promising practices in urban logistics was also released, capturing replicable models from New York, Paris, London, Norway and Brazil for efficient goods movement, liveable neighbourhoods and vibrant public space – providing cities with adaptable templates for delivery at scale.

At the summit, the World Economic Forum, in collaboration with UN-Habitat, also announced the 2025 Awards of Distinction for Public-Private Collaboration in Cities, recognising exemplary partnerships that advance innovative, inclusive and sustainable urban solutions.

Public and private sector leaders from Harar (Ethiopia), Jersey City (US) and Kigali (Rwanda) were celebrated for tackling critical urban challenges through public-private collaboration – eliminating plastic waste, expanding equitable access to healthcare and delivering affordable, green and climate-resilient housing. Together, these initiatives demonstrate how civic innovation and partnership can accelerate progress towards healthier, more inclusive cities.

• In Harar, a partnership between the city and Kubik is transforming plastic waste into building materials while empowering women waste pickers
• In Jersey City, Scitech Scity is working with state and local government and the private sector to expand access to healthcare through a new digital health programme within its innovation campus focused on life sciences and health equity
• In Kigali, the Bwiza Riverside development, led by ADHI Africa in partnership with the Government of Rwanda, is delivering affordable, green and climate-resilient housing while creating jobs through sustainable construction.