Highlights

If cities are at the center of so much innovation, as is commonly argued, do we adequately understand innovative processes and innovative outcomes at the city level? Moreover, are cities tracking the innovative activities occurring in their midst? Could the goals of supporting innovation be better realized if innovative activity was better understood at an urban scale?

In our new, rapidly changing societies – perhaps the way forward is not to try to tightly control new innovations, but to have the right government structure to safely try new things, respond quickly, evaluate, adjust and adapt.

In recent years, we have seen a growth in popular discourse about the importance of the “city as the future.” Within the context of the increasing importance of the city as a unit, there has also been a corresponding emphasis on the need for city government to “innovate” their policies, services and practices. This post explores a typology of government innovation help to bring clarity to these emerging practices.

How should we refer to people who are aged 65 years or over? This is a question others (Firor, 2016: Graham, 2012; Jaffe, 2016) are pondering and perhaps

In Living Digital 2040: Future of Work, Education and Healthcare, we pointed out the possibilities of using digital technologies to broaden appreciation of the arts. In honour of Singapore’s National Day, we decided to see how existing online analytics tools could help to understand the evolving nature of the National Day songs.

How can smart cities technologies be used to inform community engagement activities?

In May, Professor Chan was invited to join the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles, a gathering of thought leaders to discuss ideas and solutions to some of the world’s most complex problems, and discuss the topic of “Transforming the Urban Landscape.”

Singapore is a world leader in transport system design and has one of the most cost-efficient public transport networks in the world. Given that transportation is one of the major determinants of active ageing in Singapore, the Government has been acting to achieve a seamless transport system that promote the use of public transportation for commuting, including among older aged cohorts.

Under the Lee Li Ming Programme for Ageing Urbanism, we have been researching the changing housing and recreational needs of the elderly in Singapore. Through this research, we identified the need to dive deeper into the recreational component of how people age and how this component affects their health, well-being, happiness and overall quality of life.

On December 12, LKYCIC Director Poon King Wang and myself were invited to the Smart Cities Dialogue Platform in Berlin. Singapore is seen to be a leader in implementing the smart city concept and its moves to be a smart Nation is being closely watched. I discussed our smart journey and pointed out why we succeeded and where the further challenges lie.