Mark Pelling, Director of Tomorrow’s Cities, and Emin Menteşe, Istanbul Co-Lead and Visioning Scenario Development Lead, are currently participating in the United Cities and Local Government Global Retreat 2024. The week-long event gathers partners from around the globe to exchange ideas and plans aimed at promoting sustainable urban development and local governance.

The retreat, organized in a marketplace format, facilitates interactive “speed dating” sessions where UCLG partners share practices, initiatives, and tools focusing on local policies and alliances aligned with the principles of the Pact for the Future—caring for the future of People, Planet, and Government. The setup ensures that participants can explore various initiatives and select those most relevant to their interests.

During the workshop, Tomorrow’s Cities showcased its innovative approach to the UCLG conference plenary, igniting informal discussions and paving the way for potential partnerships during the subsequent marketplace activity. The event also served as a platform to introduce the Tomorrow’s Cities/UCLG Learning publication titled “Co-creating Tomorrow’s Cities in Africa: participatory risk-informed urban planning for the future” published in the wake of a successful workshop co-organised with UCLG-Africa in late 2023.

In collaboration with UCLG, Tomorrow’s Cities is currently working on the development of a Massive Online Training Programme. Additionally, partnerships with UCLG North Africa and Middle East and West Asia offices are underway to plan regional training events, ensuring that information flow remains demand-driven.

“The collaboration between Tomorrow’s Cities and UCLG underscores a commitment to shaping the future of urban development through innovative approaches and collaborative partnerships on a global scale.”

Mark Pelling, Tomorrow’s Cities Director.

Emin Yahya Menteşe, Leader of Visioning Scenario Development stage and co-lead of the Istanbul Team, provided a comprehensive overview of the deployment and outcomes of the Tomorrow’s Cities Decision Support Environment in the city and presented the recently published report. The report, available in Turkish with English translation, outlines the methodological process of the TCDSE and highlights key findings for each step. Istanbul, as one of our Learning Cities, has played a pivotal role in refining the TCDSE approach and offering valuable insights for local and national urban risk management planning.