Event Summary 

The second edition of the Leadership for the Future Series—UNDP Asian Mayors Forum, took place in Beijing, China on 11 June 2025. Under the theme: Collaborative Innovation: Shaping Low-Carbon and Sustainable Cities of the Future. The forum was hosted by UNDP China as a high-level segment of the 2025 Beijing CBD Forum, focusing on the priorities of advancing inclusive, green, and sustainable urban transformation across Asia and the Pacific. 

Key Themes:

Governance for the future: Urban governance requires visionary leadership, anticipatory thinking, and agile action. Integrated, multi-level governance is essential to avoid fragmented or siloed approaches.

Collaborative innovation: Sustainable urban transformation depends on people-centred planning and co-creation with local communities, rather than imposing top-down plans. A multi-stakeholder approach is critical to ensuring inclusive and lasting change.

Green investment: Resilient infrastructure and standardization encourages investment in green infrastructure and underpins urban prosperity; whilst tailored incentives support SMEs to adopt low-carbon technologies. 

Inclusive development: Urban transformation must also address and promote equity, fairness, ecological care, and the active participation of women and youth to ensure no one is left behind. 

Technology as an enabler: Cities are leveraging technology to drive low-carbon, efficient, and inclusive urban systems. In 2024, AI accounted for 48% of urban intelligence, with top applications in transportation, environment, and city government.