SMU partners 4 overseas universities to advance people-focused urban research

The Singapore Management University (SMU) and four universities in other countries have come together to conduct joint research on how city dwellers navigate and shape the environment in which they live.

- Shabana Begum

VIENNA -

Apart from SMU, the four other members of the Global Alliance on Sustainable Urban Societies are Boston University in the US, the London School of Economics and Political Science, the University of Melbourne in Australia, and the University of Toronto in Canada.

The partnership was announced on July 2 at SMU City Dialogues, a conference held in Vienna, Austria, which brought together global academics, government officials and corporates to discuss how cities can resist various shocks, from climate change to financial crises.

"The real motivation for this alliance is to put humans first and recognise that people are the engines of cities and sustainability," said Professor Orlando Woods, director of the one-year-old SMU Urban Institute.

The institute aims to address the urban challenges that confront Singapore and key Asian cities.