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Reinventing urban and regional futures: Cities and regions in the age of sustainability
Cities and regions globally stand at a crossroads, grappling with significant challenges on their path towards sustainable transformation. Sustainability, once a niche concern, now defines urban and regional development agendas, integrating economic resilience, social inclusivity, and environmental stewardship. Economically, regions must ensure continued growth and competitiveness amidst rapid technological shifts and global market volatility, striving to balance innovation with stability. Social sustainability demands cities enhance the quality of life by fostering inclusive communities, ensuring equity, and delivering accessible services and amenities. Environmentally, the imperative is clear: drastically reduce carbon footprints, protect natural ecosystems, and effectively manage scarce resources. And as mobility emerges as a defining aspect of this transformation, cities and regions must rethink how people and goods move in more sustainable, efficient, and equitable ways. Sustainable mobility is not only about transport. It is a way of facilitating access to opportunity, while improving environmental outcomes and spatial equity within and across places.
These multi-faceted challenges compel cities and regions to simultaneously sustain economic vibrancy, enhance social cohesion, and rigorously safeguard their environment. The necessity for an innovative rethinking of traditional urban development strategies becomes urgent. Strategies that integrate adaptability, institutional effectiveness, and technological advancements to craft resilient and inclusive communities are more needed now than ever.This session at the Osaka World Expo 2025 will critically examine these pressing themes, exploring how cities and regions can successfully harness the complexities of sustainable transformation.

【Session Summary】
The Agenda 2025 program “Transforming into sustainable region & cities,” held during the “Future of Community and Mobility” theme week of Expo 2025 Osaka-Kansai, aimed to comprehensively explore the sustainability challenges faced by urban and regional areas and discuss practical strategies for addressing them. The session was structured around multidimensional approaches to building sustainable communities from economic, social, and environmental perspectives.
Experts from a wide range of disciplines shared insights on key topics including intercity collaboration, innovations in mobility, governance resilience, and the role of technology and human capital in enhancing regional appeal. The discussions were rooted in both theory and practice, covering data from global city rankings, policy case studies from the OECD, and implementation examples of next-generation mobility such as flying vehicles.
By bringing together local and international perspectives, the session provided a platform for rethinking sustainability through both institutional innovation and spatial design.
Speaker Summary: Andrés Rodríguez-Pose
Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, a leading scholar on regional economic development and inequality, provided a compelling analysis of structural issues facing both cities and rural areas and underscored the need for inclusive and sustainable policy solutions. He warned of widening regional disparities driven by globalization and called for redistributing political attention and investment to “left-behind regions.”
Opening his remarks, Rodríguez-Pose asserted that “economic growth and inclusivity are not mutually exclusive” and emphasized the importance of long-term regional strategies. Particularly in advanced economies, the gap between urban economic dynamism and rural decline is expanding, creating fertile ground for populism and social instability. To counter this, he advocated for “bottom-up policies” led by local governments tailored to regional needs.
Drawing from policy cases in Europe, he emphasized that beyond financial transfers, sustainable regeneration requires innovation, human capital development, and robust infrastructure. He highlighted the importance of long-term strategies accompanied by governance reform and institutional change rather than short-term results. Institutional inclusion—ensuring that local voices are part of policymaking from the outset—was presented as a core principle.
He rejected the binary framing of “cities versus rural areas,” proposing instead a framework of interdependence. Cities need to reinvest in surrounding regions for mutual benefit, while rural areas can reciprocate with knowledge, resources, and cultural value. A “bidirectional regional policy” approach is needed—one that embraces cooperation and exchange rather than unilateral support.
Rodríguez-Pose also highlighted the transformative potential of technological innovation. Digitalization and green transitions, he argued, offer rural areas opportunities to transcend traditional geographical constraints and redefine themselves as laboratories for future society. He also pointed to spontaneous migration from overcrowded urban areas to rural communities, a trend which should be strategically supported through policy.
His presentation concluded with a call to see regional development not as peripheral, but as central to national and global transformation. His vision recast local areas as critical agents of sustainable change.

【Speaker Summary: Hiroo Ichikawa】
Hiroo Ichikawa, an authority on urban policy and city competitiveness, explored the concept of urban sustainability from a multidimensional perspective. Referencing his long-standing involvement with the Global Power City Index (GPCI), he explained how cities are globally assessed across factors such as economy, R&D, cultural exchange, livability, environment, and accessibility.
Ichikawa argued that urban sustainability encompasses not only the capacity to be livable but also to be continually “chosen” by people and organizations. In other words, sustainability involves cultural and social richness in addition to environmental and infrastructural factors. In the face of Japan’s population decline, cities must compete to be selected, and doing so requires leveraging intercity collaboration and metropolitan-scale advantages.
Citing changes in Tokyo’s urban policy, Ichikawa emphasized the importance of evidence-based, internationally comparable metrics. He illustrated how Tokyo has used GPCI comparisons with cities like London, Paris, and New York to improve its own policies. Such benchmarking provides cities with an objective understanding of their global positioning and helps enhance strategic planning.
On the issue of sustainability, Ichikawa framed cities as “testing grounds” for sustainable societies. Densely populated and diverse urban environments can optimize resource use, implement centralized energy systems, and promote public transport, achieving a form of “urban sustainability.” However, he cautioned that cities must also address internal disparities and isolation.
He concluded by referencing Expo 2025’s vision of creating a “laboratory for future society,” proposing that cities should serve as dynamic prototypes of future living. Cities, he said, are not static constructs, but “living systems in constant renewal.” Therefore, collaboration among governments, researchers, and citizens is essential in co-designing the cities of tomorrow. Ichikawa’s remarks framed cities as mirrors of society, shaped by collective intention and vision.

【Speaker Summary: Claire Charbit】
Claire Charbit ,drawing on her work at the OECD in urban and regional policy, shared international trends and insights toward achieving sustainable cities and regions. Based on OECD’s data collection and comparative analysis, she outlined shared challenges and best practices across member countries.
She began by noting that the definition of sustainability has recently expanded to include not only environmental, economic, and social dimensions but also governance. This means that institutional flexibility, decentralization, and citizen participation are key factors for resilience and innovation. Charbit argued that balancing urban concentration and rural dispersion, reconfiguring urban-rural relationships, and redefining spatial policies through public-private partnerships are common challenges across countries.
She highlighted the importance of “place-based policies,” which are tailored to the unique resources, issues, and cultures of individual cities and regions. Centralized approaches, she noted, are ill-equipped to address the complexity of today’s challenges. Drawing from OECD indicators and policy examples, she underscored the value of inter-city networks and sharing of best practices to improve policy effectiveness.
Charbit introduced emerging trends in city collaboration, particularly “networking among mid-sized cities,” where digital and green infrastructure enables regional innovation and human capital exchange. This approach aims to balance development without over-concentrating in megacities. She praised such models as examples of “coopetition”—collaborative competition that enhances sustainability across territories.
Charbit insisted on the importance to consider sustainability as a city attractive driver to Investors and Talent. She underlined the situation of Japan vis a vis FDI and renewable energy. I proposed the original methodology of the Regional attractiveness compasses to identify priorities in regions and cities strategies and took the example of the Kansai region and the 2 sub regions of Osaka and Wakayama to highlight the benefits of collaboration among neighbour places to address them.
She also emphasized the importance of global coordination in adapting to climate change and advancing green infrastructure. Japan’s disaster resilience and recovery experience, she noted, offers valuable lessons to other countries. Charbit reaffirmed OECD’s commitment to supporting data-driven urban policy and cross-sectoral integration.
In closing, she stated that sustainable cities and regions are not just physical spaces, but “societal structures where institutional, cultural, and human innovation are layered together.” Her insights pointed to the necessity of integrating global perspectives with local contexts for future policy design.

【Speaker Summary: Özge Öner】
Özge Öner, drawing on her expertise in European urban policy and the case of Amsterdam, offered practical insights into the future of cities and mobility. Her talk focused on how Amsterdam addresses pressing urban challenges such as climate change, social inclusion, and local economic revitalization through human-centered urban design and transportation policy.
She introduced Amsterdam’s adoption of the “Doughnut Economics” model, which balances environmental limits with social foundations in policymaking. This approach shifts the focus of urban development from pure economic growth to enhancing quality of life and environmental sustainability. Central to this model is engaging marginalized groups—low-income residents, immigrants, and the elderly—in shaping the city’s future.
Öner described how Amsterdam applies the “15-minute city” concept, prioritizing pedestrians and cyclists. Infrastructure development favors public transport and walkability over cars, resulting in improvements in public health, environmental impact, and community revitalization. She emphasized that mobility is not merely about transportation—it is a tool that transforms how people live and how cities function.
She also discussed participatory planning processes that involve young people, minorities, and other underrepresented groups. Amsterdam has institutionalized mechanisms such as town hall meetings and digital platforms to ensure residents’ voices are heard. Designing technology and policy to be “life-centered” was a recurring theme.
Reflecting on Japan’s context, Öner noted common urban challenges including aging populations, density, and cultural diversity. She emphasized the value of sharing best practices among cities globally and highlighted the power of “local action with a global perspective.”
In her concluding message, Öner stated, “The future of cities lies not in institutions or technology, but in the will and collaboration of people.” Her heartfelt remarks reminded participants that every citizen has a role to play in urban transformation.

【Speaker Summary: Tomohiro Fukuzawa】
Tomohiro Fukuzawa, CEO of SkyDrive Inc., presented a forward-looking vision for seamless urban-rural mobility and its transformative impact on society through the implementation of “flying cars.” Reflecting on the origins of SkyDrive, he explained why aerial mobility is urgently needed and how it contributes to urban and regional sustainability.
Fukuzawa opened by addressing long-standing transportation challenges—traffic congestion, time loss, environmental burden, and access inequality. In countries like Japan with mountainous terrain and remote islands, flying cars can offer infrastructure that corrects the imbalance in urban-rural accessibility.
SkyDrive is developing vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, aiming for a demonstration flight at Expo 2025. Fukuzawa emphasized that this is not just a tech showcase but a step toward integrating aerial mobility into public transportation. He stressed the importance of aligning mobility with legal frameworks, urban planning, and energy infrastructure.
He also discussed the value of “reconstructing time,” arguing that optimizing travel time—not just distance—enhances efficiency and flexibility across domains such as urban commuting, intercity transit, emergency medical transport, and disaster response. Aerial mobility could enable new lifestyles like working remotely from the countryside while enjoying urban leisure.
Fukuzawa highlighted the need for societal acceptance, citing concerns about noise, safety, cost-effectiveness, and automation. He shared SkyDrive’s efforts to engage with local communities, governments, and regulators to foster understanding and collaboration. His community-centered approach positioned flying cars as a public good, not a luxury.
Concluding his talk, he stated, “Aerial mobility is not a far-off dream, but a real solution to today’s social challenges.” His passion for using mobility to connect cities and regions inspired participants to reimagine Japan’s spatial and societal future.

【Discussion Summary】
In the second half of the session, a dynamic panel discussion unfolded among all speakers, exploring core questions such as: “How can sustainable futures for cities and regions be realized?” and “What transformations will new mobility and spatial design bring?”
Moderator Andrés Rodríguez-Pose opened by declaring that “regions are not destined to be left behind—they can become key actors of transformation.” He urged participants to look beyond urban-centric development and to recognize the uniqueness and creativity inherent in regional areas. Building on this, Claire Charbit emphasized the need for “collaborative governance beyond the urban-rural divide,” drawing from OECD policy trends.
Hiroo Ichikawa pointed out that to remain “cities of choice,” urban areas must prioritize not just infrastructure, but also cultural inclusivity and safety. He underscored the importance of visualizing intangible values not captured by city rankings and noted that comparative metrics can enhance policy effectiveness.
Özge Öner, reflecting on Amsterdam’s experiences, argued that “the heart of sustainability lies in collaboration with citizens.” She stressed the importance of urban planning rooted in lived experiences rather than administrative logic. Her remarks on integrating the voices of youth, immigrants, and minorities highlighted the power of inclusive governance.
Tomohiro Fukuzawa reiterated that flying cars can connect urban and rural areas by overcoming the constraints of time and space. However, he emphasized that their implementation requires not only technology, but also institutional readiness and public understanding. He proposed that aerial mobility could even redefine the very concept of a city.
Across the discussion, two shared themes emerged: the importance of “designing futures from regional strengths” and the need to perceive cities and regions not as divided, but as interlinked. As creativity, cultural resources, and mobility innovations intersect, designing inclusive and adaptable systems and spaces becomes an urgent task.
In closing, Rodríguez-Pose stated, “The challenges we face are complex, but the answers lie within our regions.” He emphasized the significance of Expo 2025 as an international forum for dialogue and concluded that reimagining cities and regions as hubs of both global connection and local vitality is essential for building a sustainable future.