Vienna in focus: Mayors discuss sustainable urban development!

Vienna in focus: Mayors discuss sustainable urban development!

The Austrian capital Vienna is currently under the spotlight of international urban development. The 14th Mayors Forum of the World Cities Summit will take place here from July 2nd to 4th, 2025. Over 60 cities have sent delegations to Vienna to discuss sustainable urban development together. The topic of the forum could not be more topical: “Sustainable urban development”.

The event is organized by the Center for Liveable Cities (CLC) and the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) from Singapore. City officials and politicians meet to debate urban challenges and exchange best practice examples. Mayor Michael Ludwig will address Vienna's successes in his presentations, particularly with regard to paid housing, flood protection and local recreation areas.

Excursions through Vienna

In order to offer participants practical insights, some excursions are also planned. These lead to sights such as the Danube Island, the town hall, the Seestadt and the Karl Marx Hof. These places visited are exemplary of the innovative urban development that is taking place in Vienna. The fact that the city is hosting the “Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize” that Vienna received in 2020 also suggests the importance of this event.

The prize is awarded to cities that are characterized by sustainable and vibrant urban design. This award highlights Vienna's commitment to urban development and shows the city's internationally recognized role in this area.

Urgency of sustainable developments

Given the rapid global urbanization, such events are of utmost importance. According to UN studies, the urban population will more than double by 2050, and almost 70% of people will live in cities. However, 60% of the required infrastructure still needs to be built in order to adequately supply all city residents. Also worrying is that energy and resource consumption in cities could generate around three-quarters of the global greenhouse gas emissions allowed under the Paris Agreement. Urban development therefore has the potential to have a major impact if small changes are initiated in urban living spaces.

German development cooperation aims to promote socially just, climate-friendly and resilient urban development, especially in growing small and medium-sized towns. Measures include advice on integrating sustainable urbanization into development cooperation, developing innovative approaches and disseminating this knowledge via platforms such as CityTransitions and URBANET.

With this internationally oriented conference, Vienna not only becomes a hub of urban development, but also makes a decisive contribution to creating opportunities and solutions for the challenges of future city residents.