Cities account for about 80% of global GDP, making the future of cities a priority for governments and businesses. BCG partners with governments and businesses to ensure cities of the future are designed to thrive.
Before COVID-19, trends in urbanization, climate change, and technology were shaping an increasingly complex landscape for cities around the world. The pandemic has accelerated preexisting trends and brought new ones to life. These trends have the potential to shape even better, more livable cities of the future; for example, by creating hyperlocal environments on the basis of mixed-use real estate, changing mobility habits, accelerating digital-first services, and spurring the move to sustainable living and resilient infrastructure.
Public and business leaders need to work together to rethink city development in light of these new trends, shifting their focus from improving systems to improving residents’ experiences.
Resident centricity will define cities of the future. This perspective puts the expectations and needs of people at the fore and guides strategy and master planning, community management, and the design of services. Residents’ positive experiences also help build resilience in the face of challenges—such as the COVID-19 pandemic—while driving advocacy and enhancing cities’ competitiveness.
Our expertise is based on an innovative, resident-centric approach that we’ve used to help city clients around the world. While residents remain at the core of our strategy and problem solving, our team is equipped to deliver a variety of solutions—such as planning for smart cities of the future—across governments, businesses, and institutions.
Examples of our cities-of-the-future consulting expertise include the following:
Helping a Leading City in Asia to Craft a Revitalized Future. We have worked with leaders across more than a dozen city districts to develop unique strategies—such as creating a film and television center in one district and a culture and tourism plan in another—to meet the client’s world-class aspirations.
Planning for a Comfortable Urban Environment in One of Europe’s Top Cities. A city that boasts good quality of life offers opportunities for self-fulfillment and employment and attracts talent and investment. We helped our client become such a city, using a competitiveness heat map to target areas for improvement: housing, shared services, and transit. The city has become one of the greenest in the world and is more pedestrian friendly and attractive.
Defining the Mobility Strategy for a Leading European City. We began by assessing the traffic patterns unique to the metropolitan area, looking at such factors as commutes, commuter motivations, and pain points. The resulting mobility vision will ultimately allow the city to reduce single-car use, along with its attendant problems, and improve the ability of residents and visitors to navigate the city.
Planning a Greenfield City of the Future in the Middle East. We have been part of ambitious megaprojects throughout the Middle East, including setting a vision for state-of-the-art cities of the future that are geared toward increasing tourism and bolstering the local economy.
In the course of our cities-of-the-future consulting work, we tap the expertise of BCG's Global Center for the Future of Cities and the Centre for Public Impact.
BCG’s Global Center for the Future of Cities brings cutting-edge, multidisciplinary research to solve complex issues. We provide access to experts, tools, data, and insights gleaned from our extensive experience serving city clients across Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Africa, and the Americas.
This BCG not-for-profit entity works with governments, public servants, and other change makers to reimagine government. We turn ideas into action so that government works for everyone.
As demand for office space plummets, building owners, lenders and city officials must work together creatively to avoid a downward spiral in property values and local economies.
Leaders must learn what works in their city—and expeditiously address what doesn’t. Residents’ satisfaction is key to whether they move or stay.
Ecosystems are popular in business because they foster innovation, address complexity, scale quickly, and adapt to changing environments. They can do the same for cities.
Cities that forge trust with their residents are on the right track to a sustainable future. What does it take?
