Cities across the world are reassessing how they shape growth, livability, and competitiveness as urban pressures intensify. Traffic congestion, housing shortages, declining land productivity, and rising expectations for quality of life are exposing the limits of legacy planning frameworks. Codifying the Best Global City argues that one of the most underappreciated levers to address these challenges is urban codes; the rules governing land use, density, building form, streets, and public space. Far from being technical instruments, these codes fundamentally shape how cities function, how people live and interact, and how economies perform over decades.
The report positions urban codes as strategic infrastructure. Evidence from global leaders shows that compact, mixed-use, and walkable environments are consistently associated with better health outcomes, stronger social cohesion, higher land productivity, and greater climate resilience. Conversely, rigid or outdated codes often lock cities into car dependency, sprawl, housing scarcity, and environmental vulnerability. As cities confront climate adaptation, new mobility patterns, and shifting lifestyles, static regulatory frameworks struggle to keep pace; making code reform a central act of city-making rather than a technical adjustment.
Drawing on examples from cities such as Tokyo, Paris, Copenhagen, Singapore, and Barcelona, the report highlights three core ways cities can use urban codes to unlock long-term value. First, codes can translate city or district strategy directly into the built environment, ensuring ambitions around economic growth, sustainability, and livability are realized on the ground. Flexible, rules-based zoning, such as Japan’s nationally standardized system, has enabled rapid housing delivery, adaptive reuse, and stable affordability even in high-demand megacities. Second, design and urban codes can act as powerful levers for attractiveness, identity, and resident advocacy. Cities that invest in beauty, walkability, and high-quality public space consistently see higher pride, satisfaction, and economic vitality. Third, codes must be designed to adapt at the speed of change, enabling flexible, multi-functional infrastructure that can evolve with technological, social, and environmental shifts rather than locking cities into single-purpose solutions.
The report also addresses the implications for fast-growing regions such as the GCC. With unprecedented levels of new development, megaprojects, and policy reform underway, cities have a rare opportunity to embed progressive codes from the outset, supporting mixed use, walkability, climate-responsive design, and coherent urban identity. For existing cities and brownfield areas, targeted code reform can enable adaptive reuse, strategic densification, and rejuvenation, provided implementation is carefully orchestrated and communities and developers are actively engaged.
Ultimately, Codifying the Best Global City makes a clear case: urban codes are among the most powerful tools cities have to shape quality of life, competitiveness, and resilience for generations. Cities that treat codes as living, strategic instruments, rather than static rulebooks, will be better positioned to attract talent and investment, foster pride and belonging, and deliver sustainable, human-centered urban environments in an era of rapid change.