Explore the City with WRLDCTY Urban Labs.
Presented by DIALOG.

Dig deep into the projects and places that have shaped Vancouver’s past and are readying this fast-growing city for the future. WRLDCTY turns Vancouver into a living lab with guided tours and workshops at iconic sites and places steeped in meaning.

Experience Opportunities Include:

• Granville Island, one of Vancouver’s most iconic examples of placemaking.

• Sen̓áḵw, the largest CMHC funded Indigenous led development project in Canadian History.

• Olympic Village, a catalytic site the impacted housing, zoning, energy, and coastal resilience in Vancouver.

• The Shipyards, a world-class mixed-use development on the North Vancouver waterfront. It boasts an unparalleled public realm that completes a series of interconnected plazas, transit routes, and recreational spaces.
  

9:00 AM - 4:00 PM | WRLDCTY Global Forum @ The Annex Theatre.
Welcome to Vancouver, the traditional lands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

THE DESTINATION CITY: Power in Partnerships
Royce Chwin, President & CEO, Destination Vancouver
What does it mean for a city to be a destination—not just for tourists, but for talent, investment, and civic life? Royce Chwin opens WRLDCTY with a case for cross-sector collaboration as a catalyst for place-based identity, economic resilience, and global positioning. A welcome to Vancouver, and a provocation for what it takes to activate a city’s full potential.

THE AGE OF ARENA DISTRICTS: Can They Change the Game for Downtowns?
Jonathan Maille, Managing Director, Americas, POPULOUS
Chris Fair, CEO, Resonance
Arena districts are redefining the role of major venues in urban ecosystems - becoming forces of opportunity for downtown revitalization that shape future-forward neighbourhoods, accelerate inclusive growth and build economic resilience - beyond the stadium. Populous shares how giant projects make impacts - both big, and small.

RECONCILIATION CITY: Breaking Rules to Repair and Reimagine
Ginger Gosnell-Myers, Principal, Ginger Gosnell-Myers Consulting
Vancouver was the first city in Canada to unveil a Reconciliation City plan and commitment to implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). As one of the lead architects of the plan, Ginger will walk us through how the city learned to break its own rules and rewrite a more prosperous urban future through deeper collaboration with, and leadership from, Indigenous communities.

PLANETARY URBANISM: Civic Imagination for an Urgent Future
Ilana Lipsett, Co-founder, Civic Foresight Project
We need imagination at scale, an abundance mindset, and a penchant for action. Ilana shows us how speculative thinking and creative methodologies are being used today to shape systems for tomorrow. It’s time to go beyond human-centred design. Here’s what that might look like…

MORE INTERESTINGLY LESS WRONG: Building with Delight, not Consensus
Iain Montgomery, Host, Challenger Cities
Perfection is a conspiracy against progress. Cities, their leaders, and even companies spend so much time trying to be “right” that they forget the future is built by people willing to be distinct. Everything once considered innovative was at some point, controversial and imperfect.

AMBITIOUS CITIES: Lessons from Urban Moon Shots
Steven Cornwell, Global Brand Director, ERA-CO
Ghigo DiTommaso, Partner, Gehl
Emiliano Espasandin, Founder, PALO Arq.
Nadia Levi, SVP Land Use, Colliers
In a risk-averse world, bold urban transformation demands courage, coalition, and conviction. This session dives into what it really takes to deliver ambitious city-building projects—from embracing calculated risk to forging unconventional partnerships and sustaining collective will. With global case studies and firsthand insights, our speakers unpack how big ideas survive politics, inertia, and complexity to reshape the urban future.

LIVABLE FOR WHO? Countering Displacement
Becky Zimmermann, President & CEO, DESIGNWORKSHOP
As urban reinvestment accelerates, the question isn’t whether cities will change—but who they change for. This session outlines emerging approaches in design, development, and governance that move beyond placemaking toward placekeeping, aiming to reduce displacement and cultivate lasting belonging.

WOMEN CHANGING CITIES: Global Stories of Transformation & Leadership
Melissa Bruntlett, Author & Director, Modacity Creative
Chris Bruntlett, Author & International Relations Manager, Dutch Cycling Embassy
Cities around the world are reimagining their streets and public spaces, transforming them into places for enjoyment and spending time instead of simply for moving through. As more cities, businesses, and local advocates search for the perfect recipe for urban vitality in their communities, a number of cities are leading the way. (hint: they have something in common …)

LONGEVITY CITIES: Playing and Aging from 0-99
Gary Gaston, CEO, Civic Design Center
Raj Ahuja, Longevity Cities Fellow
Melissa Higgs, Principal, hcma
Cities that support thriving childhoods and dignified aging are often the most livable for everyone. This session explores how lifecycle-based design, social infrastructure, and intergenerational policy can foster well-being across every stage of life.

GROWING UP: Does Vertical Density Mean Sacrificing Livability?
Ashley Bauman, Founder, Beyond the Buildings
Darryl Condon, Managing Principal, hcma
Marc Ricou, SVP Commercial, Bosa Properties Inc.
As vertical living becomes the new norm, cities must rethink the mechanics of everyday life in towers. This discussion considers the design choices, investments, amenities and social strategies that can ensure high-density environments are not only efficient - but meaningfully livable. (hint: it's about community)

CLOSING KEYNOTE: Are Cities Killing Our Humanity? Rebuilding Trust and Connection
Charles Montgomery, Author & Urbanist, Happy Cities
Trust is infrastructure. Drawing from a decade of global research, Charles Montgomery examines how - as city-builders - we can either fracture—or fortify—social cohesion, public happiness, and human flourishing in the modern city. Here's how we can all do better.

4:00 PM - 5:30 PM |Networking Reception @ The WRLDCTY Lounge

7:00 PM | WRLDCTY After Dark!
Party and see the city from new heights!
Hosted by Hudson Pacific Properties

9:00 AM | WRLDCTY Global Roundtables: Building Happy Cities in an Age of Despair
Hosted and facilitated by Happy Cities

In an era of growing isolation and inequality, designing for joy, wellbeing, and connection is one of the most pressing challenges of our time. Join Happy Cities in this fast-paced workshop for inspiring stories and hands-on activities. Collaborate with city-makers from around the world to gain hope in the face of troubling headlines. And co-create practical — and radical — solutions for the crises that feel so pervasive in 2025..

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1:00 PM - 5:00 PM | WRLDCTY Global Forum @ The Annex Theatre.

TALE OF TWO CITIES: Meeting Challenges at Scale
Michael Koh, Executive Fellow, Centre for Liveable Cities Singapore
Josh White, GM Urban Planning & Design, City of Vancouver
Mary Rowe, CEO, Canadian Urban Institute
Limited land area, rising sea levels, critical housing demands, rich cultural histories, and transforming industries - Vancouver and Singapore have as much in common as they do different. In this candid exchange, Singapore's Centre for Livable Cities and the City of Vancouver explore various approaches cities can take to "meet the moment" and address challenges at scale in ways that set a city up for its next generation(s).

THE SCREEN KILLED THE CITY
Greg Lindsay, Urbanist & Futurist, Senior Fellow, MIT
Technology promised connection but delivered isolation. Greg maps the cultural and infrastructural impacts of the screen on urban life, and outlines how city-builders can design for digital-era citizenship, interaction, and shared public value.

PARADOX OF PROXIMITY: Addressing the Loneliness Epidemic
Ann-Britt, Chief Communications Officer, BLOXHUB
Why are people lonelier in walkable, amenity-rich neighbourhoods than ever before? BLOXHUB: The Nordic Centr shares new data and case examples from Copenhagen and beyond, offering spatial and systemic strategies to design for connection in an increasingly fragmented world.

WHY EMBRACING TAYLOR SWIFT MIGHT RESURRECT THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT
Ashley Chandler, Senior Manager, Programming & Events, Hudson Pacific Properties
Activating podiums and plazas is placemaking 101, but volume matters. In this deep-dive case study, we’ll see how it’s possible to breathe life into a Central Business District through 100+ days of programming. The kicker… don’t think they’ll come because you built it. They’ll come because you programmed it.

A PLAYBOOK FOR GETTING IT DONE: Municipal Development Corporations
Kate Thompson, CEO, Calgary Municipal Land Corporation
Development corporations are emerging as agile vehicles to build what cities need—faster. This session demystifies how municipal land and development entities operate, how to establish one, and the governance and funding models that allow them to accelerate complex, city-shaping projects.

CLIMATE EXTREMES: Urban Urgency when Extreme is Normal
Samantha Peart, Global Head of Sustainability, Hassell
Audrey Girard, Design Director, Lemay
Jen Angel, CEO, Evergreen
Wildfires, floods, heat domes, extreme cold ... we can talk about climate resiliency all we want, but as time passes and our cities experience more extremes more often, we're left to react quickly while policy catches up. Here we dive into novel approaches and design-led solutions that are making our cities more habitable and future-fit - now.

KEYNOTE: Messy Cities. Why We Can't Plan Everything
Zahra Ebrahim, Co-Founder, Monumental
Order isn’t always the answer. Zahra Ebrahim makes a compelling case for embracing the productive messiness of city life — from informal economies to spontaneous placemaking — as vital expressions of community agency, cultural identity, and democratic urbanism.

THE WORLD’S NEXT CITIES
Chris Fair, President & CEO, Resonance
Sofia Song, Global Leaders, Cities Research, Gensler
Antonio Gomez-Palacio, Chair, DIALOG
What if the world’s most admired cities aren’t the best indicators of our future? This session challenges prevailing narratives around ‘model cities’ and explores lesser-known places that are pioneering inclusive, regenerative, and next-generation urbanism.