People at the Centre: Rethinking Urban Planning in an Age of Migration

The future of inclusive cities depends not only on infrastructure and technology, but on empathy. A city’s success cannot be measured solely by economic output or technological sophistication. It must also be judged by whether its residents feel recognised, secure, and at home.

Urban planning must centre lived experience—designing cities for those born there, those who arrived decades ago, and those yet to come. By placing people, not just systems, at the heart of planning, cities can bridge the gap between design and reality and evolve into spaces that genuinely serve all who make them vibrant.