Minister of State for National Development Lee Yi Shyan has singled out poverty, pollution and poor infrastructure as key urban challenges.
He said an unfavourable global economy can add uncertainties and slow development.
Mr Lee called on mayors to seek practical solutions to urban problems ahead of the World Cities Summit in Singapore this week.
“Worldwide, 828 million people live in slum conditions, lacking basic services such as drinking water and sanitation. This number is increasing by six million each year to hit 890 million by 2020,” he said.
“In many cities, we are trying to catch up with adequate infrastructure. In short, we are behind the curve.”
The United Nations forecasts that by 2025, there will be 37 megacities in the world. Five years after that, half the people on the planet will be living in urban areas.
This means spiralling pressure on the environment - more waste and pollution.
To stay ahead, many have looked towards Singapore as a model.
Danasiri Amarathunga, a Sri Lankan mayor, says the Republic provides lessons for developing cities.
“There are a lot of things that you can learn from Singapore. Especially the public housing,” he said. “There are a lot of shanty areas, squatters in Colombo city. We’ll have to move them out, (but) we have to keep them inside Colombo city also for their work purposes.”
“If we can go for high-rise flats like Singapore does, that will help the community as well as all these people in the city,” he added.
