Over 20,000 participants attend 3 major events in Singapore

More than 20,000 participants from across the globe attended three major events in Singapore this week which covered the issues of global development of cities, water management and clean environment.
Singapore's Senior Minister of State for National Development, Lee Yi Shyan noted the strong response to the World Cities Summit where more than 1,200 delegates, including 130 mayors and 30 ministers exchanged views on developing and managing smart cities.
"Impressive as the numbers are, I think I can speak for all participants that we are more interested in the qualitative aspect of the summit," said Lee.
"We are interested in the take aways. We want to bring back best practices and practical solutions we can implement at homes. We want simple and cost effective ways to deal with the challenges we encounter in our cities," he said.

The summit heard the experience of Orange County Water District in California having "painstakingly prepared its constituents to accept recycled water and through ingenious membrane solutions," Lee pointed out, adding that the city arrived at cost-effective water sufficiency.
He also highlighted the determination of Spanish municipality Medellin to turn crime-laden streets into institute of higher learning, combining parks with libraries.

The municipality created community spaces for safe social interactions and replacing high homicide rates with job opportunities, he noted.
The summit also heard the best practices of Yokohama in creating family-friendly amenities such as childcare and job opportunities to attract young families.

"We see a microcosm of a cosmopolitan Japan where foreigners and new ideas are welcomed," he said.
Among the presentations at the summit was the transformation of China's Suzhou city, all within a short span of 20 years, to become a harmonious and integrated township celebrating both modern economic achievements and the rich heritage of an ancient city of 2,500 years.
"We are awed by Suzhou's transformation," Lee said.
One of the polls at the events showed that 29 per cent of the participants deemed that the world would never have 100 per cent potable water accessibility even beyond 2050.

In another poll, 42 per cent of the participants felt that the world would never be able to achieve the vision of a city without slums and homeless people.