Global Alliance on Sustainable Urban Societies

On July 2, 2025, at the 14th World Cities Mayors Forum in Vienna, Austria, Director Loretta Lees signed a joint vision to pursue interdisciplinary research that views cities through a human-centered lens with the Urban Institute, Singapore Management University; School of Cities, University of Toronto; Melbourne Centre for Cities; and the London School of Economics.

These global urban research centers share a mutual interest in pursuing a collaborative effort to better understand human-centric cities. This encompasses joint research projects, academic publications and workshops, conferences, and other potential cooperative opportunities. It will be strengthened by faculty and student exchanges and data-sharing initiatives.

The founding members of the Global Alliance on Sustainable Urban Societies are (R-L) Prof Orlando Woods, Director, Urban Institute, Singapore Management University, Prof Karen Chapple, Director, The School of Cities, University of Toronto, Prof Cathy Oke, Director, Melbourne Centre for Cities, Prof Loretta Lees, Director, The Initiative on Cities, Boston University, Prof Hyun Bang Shin, Head of Department, Department of Geography and Environment, The London School of Economics and Political Science. (Photo credit: Singapore Management University)

Upcoming International Partnerships

We are cultivating new partnerships on different urban research initiatives. Our current collaborative efforts with the Barcelona Lab for Urban Environmental Justice and Sustainability on heat gentrification, along with European Union institutions through the Housing Nexus: European Union Horizon Project, focus on linking current global challenges to their root causes and impact on potential and current urban changes.