Cities are now home to more than half the world’s population. Consequently, they should be considered the flagship for all places – urban and rural – in respect of how we live our lives in ways that bring prosperity, equity and quality of life to both current and future generations.

The UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 11: ‘make cities and human settlements inclusive, resilient, and sustainable by 2030’ gives even more impetus to the ambition to link quality of life to living in cities.

This keynote address highlights the systems thinking and actions needed to ensure we leave not only an infrastructural legacy in cities but also a human and cultural one – especially where the added social value of anchor institutions, such as the health system, moves beyond normal boundaries of a care and repair system. Issues such as air quality, good housing and access to the natural environment are increasingly seen as core to the health and prosperity of cities redeveloping around the world with sustainability in mind.