“What does an ambitious city look like when the people, technology, and the economics are all changing at once?” 

That question sat at the centre of the World’s Ahead Forum in Hong Kong hosted by Woods Bagot and ERA-co. The discussion was moderated by Steven Cornwell, Global Director of ERA-co, and brought together leaders from Colliers Hong Kong, RaSpect Intelligence Inspection Limited and Shun Tak Holdings.  

The question resonated beyond Hong Kong.  

The pace of change is not new. What feels different today is how many changes are arriving simultaneously. Technology is reshaping the way businesses operate. Populations are ageing while a new generation is entering its prime working years with different expectations of work and quality of life. Increasingly, cities are being asked to respond to both at once. Decisions about cities, however, still play out over decades.  

As those timelines collide, city leaders are being asked to make long-term choices in an environment that is becoming increasingly difficult to predict.  

Cities can no longer rely on habit 

For much of the past century, cities could rely on habit. People travelled into commercial centres because that was where work happened. Buildings were designed for relatively fixed purposes, and urban growth followed familiar patterns. That certainty is becoming harder to find.  

One of the clearest themes to emerge from the discussion was a shift in how value is defined. Kathy Lee, Executive Director and Head of Research and Retail Consultancy at Colliers Hong Kong, observed that organisations in Hong Kong are increasingly focussed on what a space enables and less on how much of it they occupy. As a result, the office is no longer competing with the office next door. It is competing with home, flexibility and with every other way people might choose to spend their time. Retail faces a similar challenge.  

Underlying this is a broader shift from location-by-necessity to location-by-choice. Geography still matters, but it no longer guarantees that people will choose to engage with the places around them. Combined with changing generational expectations and an ageing population, cities can no longer assume they will be chosen by default. Relevance needs to be earned.  

Creating value from what already exists 

One of the strongest themes to emerge from the discussion was that the future of cities may depend less on what they build next and more on how they adapt what already exists. 

Across Hong Kong, modern developments sit alongside buildings designed for a different era. Similar conditions exist in cities around the world, where large parts of the urban fabric were planned around assumptions that are rapidly changing. 

The panel explored how technology is helping accelerate that transition. Harris Sun, CEO and Founder of RaSpect, described how Artificial Intelligence and robotics are helping owners move from reactive maintenance towards predictive asset management, improving safety, performance and operation of buildings and infrastructure. 

From an owner’s perspective, James Chow, Head of Commercial Real Estate at Shun Tak Holdings, reflected on the challenge of making long-term investment decisions at a time when technology, regulation and user expectations are evolving simultaneously. Flexibility is becoming increasingly important as buildings may need to accommodate uses and demands that cannot yet be fully anticipated. 

Despite approaching the issue from different perspectives, the discussion returned to a common theme: cities need systems that can evolve alongside the people who use them.  

The next chapter of urban growth is unlikely to be defined by entirely new districts or landmark projects alone. It will be shaped by how effectively existing buildings, infrastructure and communities are adapted for a different future.   

 Cities like Hong Kong have long demonstrated an ability to evolve. The challenge is now responding to several shifts at once. The cities that thrive will be the ones who remain responsive and relevant as the future unfolds.