Five academic institutions have launched the Global Alliance on Sustainable Urban Societies. The aim is to place people at the heart of urban research, tech, and policy-making.

The alliance aims to create a new approach to implementing technology in future cities, including a multi-disciplinary approach to smart cities.

The partnership was announced at the Singapore Management University (SMU) City Dialogues held in Vienna, taking place as part of the Mayors Forum of the World Cities Summit 2025.

The alliance comprises Singapore Management University (SMU); The School of Cities, University of Toronto; Melbourne Centre for Cities; The Initiative on Cities, Boston University; The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

The group aims to deepen understanding of how city dwellers sense, navigate and shape the urban environments they inhabit. This includes examination of the social and cultural norms, social networks and economic linkages. This “soft infrastructures” is seen as underpinning resilient and sustainable cities.

With accelerating digital transformation of cities, the alliance advocates for a fusion of social science with data science to offer new actionable insights into urban life. By recognising people as sensors, enablers and actuators, the collaboration acknowledges the vital, multi-faceted role of residents in shaping sustainable urban societies.

The alliance aims to develop joint research initiatives and publish data sharing protocols that uphold privacy and confidentiality.

The founding institutions extend an open invitation to like-minded academic institutions to join the Alliance in advancing a collective understanding of sustainable, people-first cities.

Professor Loretta Lees, the Director of the Initiative on Cities at Boston University, said, “To be resilient and liveable, cities must be socially sustainable, and we need to understand how individuals and communities perceive, interact with, and are affected by urbanisation and the urban environment. Ensuring equitable access to resources and opportunities in cities is important because this affects well-being and quality of life. Investigating urban community building and socio-cultural interactions and connections is strategic in terms of building human resilience to shocks, environmental, economic, or other. Working with like-minded urbanists globally is critical towards these goals, and we are very excited to be a part of launching this global urban alliance.”

Professor Karen Chapple, Director of the School of Cities, and Professor, Department of Geography & Planning, at the University of Toronto, said, “This partnership reflects our deep commitment to advancing inclusive, interdisciplinary urban research that centres the lived experiences of residents and city-builders. By working collaboratively across continents and disciplines, we can better understand the complex social fabrics that make cities resilient, and co-create solutions that are both innovative and grounded in the realities of urban life.”