Centre for Liveable Cities and Ramboll launch urban lab putting regenerative principles at the heart of city planning

The MoU was formally sealed by Hugh Lim, Managing Director, CLC Ltd, and Søren Brøndum, Managing Director for Buildings at Ramboll, at the COP28 Singapore Pavilion, in Dubai, on 9 December 2023.

This MoU builds on the ongoing interactions between CLC and Ramboll and seeks to promote further knowledge exchange through co-organising programmes and leveraging each other’s expert networks from Singapore, Denmark, and around the world.

Under the MoU, CLC and Ramboll will launch Urban Lab, an innovative knowledge generation process with a focus on regenerative urban development approaches. Previously, Ramboll has initiated Urban Labs in Copenhagen and New York, generating valuable insight in sustainable urban development in collaboration with cross-sector partners.

Investigating regenerative urban development

The main objective of the joint CLC-Ramboll Urban Lab is to investigate the concept of regenerative urban development, distilling core principles by drawing from Singapore as a case study. These principles will have broad relevance and applicability to other cities worldwide.

The initiative is set to commence in 2024, and CLC and Ramboll will be engaging urban planners, developers, and financiers, from the public, private, and academic sectors. It will focus on three themes: decarbonising the built environment, integrating nature-based solutions, and enhancing cities’ climate resilience.

"The Urban Lab demonstrates our commitment to driving the industry forward by providing forward-looking good practice in sustainable urban development that benefits the environment and people who live and work in cities. The outcomes of the initiative will be applicable to cities around the world, providing a valuable resource for urban planning professionals seeking to adopt regenerative practices," says Jens-Peter Saul. "We need to reach across sectors and borders to innovate the future city, and are excited to develop this initiative in collaboration with our partners, clients and peers.”

“CLC and Ramboll have fostered a long-standing partnership through numerous earlier collaborations. This partnership will bring the first Urban Lab to Singapore, with a focus on sustainable principles in urban planning and development,” says Hugh Lim. “The study on regenerative urban planning will offer a transformative approach to city development and the built environment sector, with emphasis on sustainability, resilience, and social equity. This learning lab will serve as a platform for exploring, innovating, and implementing these principles, ensuring that our cities are not only sustainable but also foster the well-being of those who live in it. We are excited to be able to share the outcomes of the workshops at the World Cities Summit taking place in Singapore from 2 – 4 June 2024.”