The third day of the 61st World Planning Congress (ISOCARP), hosted by the Riyadh Region Municipality from 1 to 4 December 2025 under the theme “Cities and Regions in Motion: Planning Pathways Toward Resilience and Quality of Life,” featured specialized sessions on urban planning, its future, and the use of technological tools to advance it.

Participants discussed how artificial intelligence has become capable of developing advanced urban-planning tools in days instead of months, fundamentally transforming the way planners work. They noted that most cities around the world share similar challenges, and AI facilitates the transfer of successful solutions from one city to another while the labor market is on the verge of significant transformation.

They emphasized that urban planning should measure people’s capabilities and choices—not just the number of completed projects stressing that true smart cities are not merely technological; they are cities that amplify the citizen’s voice and participation. Quality of life, they added, is the highest standard for evaluating urban success, with the three pillars of future planning being resilience, intelligence, and human capability.

Speakers further explained that foresight is not only about predicting the future but also about creating a better one by identifying what we aspire to and understanding the threats that may hinder it. Spatial foresight, they noted, must consider five intertwined dimensions—social, technological, economic, environmental, and political—all of which have clear spatial implications.

In a session on empowering women as leaders in urban planning, specialists highlighted that the strength of women lies in building trust and social bonds within communities. They emphasized that excluding women from planning and urban decision-making leads to inequitable outcomes, as confirmed by global experiences. Purposeful and conscious integration of women, they argued, results in more inclusive and effective solutions for communities and families.

In parallel, the Congress featured a session on the importance of international exchange through city diplomacy.

Professor Greg Clark, Senior Advisor on Cities, Regions, and Urban Futures at CBE FACSS, explained that global urbanization over the 100-year period from 1980 to 2080 represents the largest demographic transformation in human history. It includes a doubling of the urban population share, a four-fold increase in the total number of urban inhabitants, and unprecedented growth of mega-cities. This transformation, he noted, is occurring alongside the continued strength of nation-states, creating a growing gap between fast-changing cities and slower-changing national systems.

For his part, Dr. Riyadh Al-Sheikh, Assistant Undersecretary for Strategy and Institutional Excellence at the Riyadh Region Municipality, confirmed that the world is rapidly moving toward urbanization, with more than 70% of the global population expected to live in cities by 2050.

He added that Riyadh is undertaking one of the most ambitious urban transformations worldwide under Vision 2030, noting that city diplomacy has become essential for building international partnerships that enhance cities’ capabilities to keep pace with global change.

He pointed to a series of international visits for knowledge exchange—including Singapore, Spain, and Australia—emphasizing that building bridges between cities depends on shared policies, innovation, and joint projects.

He concluded by noting that trust is the decisive factor in turning partnerships into long-term success.