New Joint Urban Hub to be Established in Singapore

World Bank President Robert Zoellick (left) and George Yeo, foreign minister of Singapore, shake hands after signing an agreement to create a World Bank-Singapore Urban Hub.

• The creation of a World Bank-Singapore Urban Hub will work to give out advice and assistance on practical solutions to major urban challenges facing developing countries.
• Among other issues, the Hub’s project focus on city management and financing, urban design and climate change in its first year.
• The initiative comes at a critical time, with urban populations in East Asian cities expected to increase, potentially accelerating existing strains, such as slums, poor services and environmental degradation.

January 8, 2009 — World Bank President Robert Zoellick and George Yeo, foreign minister of Singapore, in December signed a memorandum of agreement that will bring together Singapore’s recognized expertise in urban development, education, and public administration with the Bank’s global development knowledge and operational experience.

The parties agreed to create a World Bank-Singapore Urban Hub. Its mandate is to help practitioners with state-of-the-art advice and technical assistance on practical solutions to major urban challenges.

The partnership will initially focus on the urban sector, building on Singapore’s expertise in developing workable solutions to city problems.
 
In its first year of operation the Hub will develop the collaboration between Singapore and the Bank on at least five projects, focused on the thematic areas of city management, city financing, urban design and climate change; deliver workshops and training programs; begin the creation of a virtual knowledge network; and develop and pilot advisory products for urban practitioners.

“The new Hub operation will help increase the value-added of our knowledge sharing and training to clients in East Asia, who are looking to learn from Singapore’s success,” said Vice President for East Asia and Pacific (EAP) James Adams who participated in the launch ceremony.

Critical Time

The partnership will link Singapore-based public agencies, educational institutes, think-tanks, and the private sector with strategic partners in EAP and around the world, establishing a knowledge network.

The Bank will work with Singapore to undertake joint capacity building programs, pilot demonstration projects, and study visits.

The initiative comes at a critical time, when East Asian cities are expected to swell by 2 million people every month. By 2025, EAP’s urban population is likely to increase by 500 million people.

EAP's economic future depends on the continued success of its urban areas: cities and towns are typically the most dynamic sources of productivity, and in East Asia they already contribute at least 70 percent of the region’s economic growth. If not properly managed, rapid urbanization can exacerbate environmental damage, congestion, and social problems, such as poverty, ill health, and insecurity.

This is not just a critical issue for EAP, but globally. The world’s urban population surpassed the rural for the first time in human history in 2008. This is expected to accelerate further, in particular in developing countries increasing existing strains, including slums, poor services, and environmental degradation.

”Governments need to find sensible solutions to managing the demand for land, water and jobs while also ensuring their cities remain livable and socially cohesive.

“Through its own unique development experience, Singapore has built a vast knowledge base on meeting these sorts of challenges.

“Bringing this knowledge together with the World Bank Group’s development operations in East Asia and around the world creates a vital source of relevant and tested expertise that we believe many countries can benefit from,” Zoellick said.

Expanding Partnerships Benefit Operations

EAP has a history of using partnerships strategically, drawing on and disseminating regional development experiences to encourage learning and intra-regional knowledge transfer.

The new partnership with Singapore widens this network of external knowledge partnerships, and increases the external expertise available to our operational staff. Other existing partnerships include the EAP Infrastructure Regulatory Forum and a developing relationship with ASEAN. The Region intends to further increase its collaboration with external partners and aims to interlink these partnerships.