Citymaker’s guides to…

Artificial intelligence

Cities stand at a turning point in how new technologies influence and shape public life. Artificial intelligence (AI), digital twins and immersive platforms are already being integrated into urban systems — from managing trac and emergency responses to enabling civic participation. However, without robust oversight, these technologies risk undermining trust and exacerbating inequality. The central question is no longer whether city governments should adopt digital tools, but how to do so in ways that are inclusive, safe and eective.

Metropolitan resilience

Urban challenges don’t stop at city limits. Metropolitan areas have a chance to innovate and work together across different jurisdictions to address complex issues on a larger, more connected scale. This policy brief examines how to build resilient ecosystems effectively: metropolises need strong collaboration, inter-city cooperation, and a shared metropolitan vision.

The Care Economy

What is the cost of overlooking care? The care economy is all the critical social infrastructure – paid and unpaid – that keeps societies running, making all other work possible. This policy brief examines the risks that cities face if care systems remain underfunded and undervalued, and offers real case examples that showcase how cities around the world are addressing the global care crisis.

Strategic foresight

Now more than ever, metropolises require the capacity to look beyond the immediate, to explore the dynamics of change, anticipate disruption and steer towards preferred futures. Strategic foresight offers a structured way to explore alternative futures, test assumptions and prepare for uncertainty. Rather than predicting a single outcome, tools like horizon scanning, trend mapping, and scenario development generate key insights to support adaptation.

Future-proofing megacities

Megacities, each home to over 10 million people, drive much of the world’s GDP growth, innovation and culture. Yet, their very scale magnifies risks. Strained infrastructure, rising inequality and climate stress already put immense pressure on finances and governance, which often lag behind fast-growing needs. Megacities are stress tests for our collective future, offering lessons for smaller cities. Building future-ready megacities requires thinking both big enough to confront systemic risks while small enough to ensure resilience and opportunity reach every community.

Humane management of stray cats and dogs

Stray cat and dog populations are rapidly increasing in cities worldwide, creating public health, animal welfare, and municipal management challenges. Evidence shows that humane, community-supported approaches, including spay and neuter programs, adoption initiatives, and public education on responsible ownership, are the most effective long-term solutions. However, many current programs remain fragmented and under-resourced, limiting their impact. Stronger coordination, sustained funding, and behaviour-change strategies are needed to address the root causes of stray populations.

Housing beyond units

Metropolitan governments rarely control the full regulatory or financial architecture of housing markets, but they shape how land is managed, how density is distributed, and how municipalities coordinate around shared goals. Through land policy, infrastructure investment, and inter-municipal cooperation, they are positioned to connect housing delivery to territorial equity, social inclusion, and environmental sustainability. In doing so, they address not just the cost of a unit, but the cost of where it sits.

Institutionalizing equality