Improving tomorrow's cities

Global thought and industry leaders joined ARES 2023, one of the anchor events of PropertyGuru Week, to tackle the future of cities and focus on powering communities.

The ninth edition of PropertyGuru Asia Real Estate Summit (ARES), the thought leadership platform of PropertyGuru Group (NYSE: PGRU), held in Bangkok in early December 2023 focused on the theme “Powering Communities”, and how responsible leaders can build and improve tomorrow’s cities.

The event brought together more than 400 delegates from around the world for an inspiring, insightful hybrid conference and event. Nearly 40 speakers initiated important thought-provoking conversations around the future of communities, business, leisure, and innovation.

This year’s theme aligns with PropertyGuru Group’s vision to power communities to live, work, and thrive in tomorrow’s cities. The first segment of ARES 2023, “Live: Future of Communities”, started with a keynote address on new economic drivers and the outlook for Asia in 2024 from Sumana Rajarethnam, Director, South-East Asia, Economist Intelligence Corporate Network. The segment also featured a keynote from Kenya-based Dr. Edlam Abera Yemeru, Chief of Knowledge and Innovation Branch at UNHabitat, on adoptive communities and the creation of SDG Cities.

David Gissen, author, designer, educator, consultant / Professor of Architecture and Urban History, Parsons School of Design, then delivered the international keynote on rethinking buildings and the concept of the one-story city.