Malaysia’s cities have the opportunity to improve their  attractiveness to global investors by focussing on long-term resilience to climate shocks, according to  new thinking on city competitiveness.

Cities must think beyond traditional indicators like economic performance and transport  infrastructure to continue to attract investment, a new competitive cities tracker has shown.  

The authors of the report warn that cities need to focus far more on issues like climate action and  demographic shifts to be successful in the future.  

The City Competitiveness Redefined Tracker from sustainable development consultancy Arup shows  which urban centres are best placed for long term success. It measures 63 cities against 37 future  success indicators – with around a quarter focused on climate action. These indicators span four key  assessment areas for city competitiveness: investor attractiveness, assets and infrastructure,  liveability and loveability, and urban management and governance.  

Kuala Lumpur was identified under the ‘aspiring’ category of competitiveness when analysed against  these metrics. The report’s authors noted that the city has significantly improved in Urban  Management and Governance in recent years with increasing green space, high land efficiency, and  ongoing improvements to climate action. However, it was noted that residents face challenges around  urban mobility, vibrancy, work intensity and inclusivity.  

Murali Ram, Malaysia Lead for Cities & Advisory at Arup noted that the learnings from the tracker  could be applied to Malaysian cities thinking about how they can improve their attractiveness to  investors. He said: “The tracker indicates where Malaysia could grow the attractiveness of our cities 

by investing in robust climate resilience and mitigation plans. We found that 76% of cities studied  have well-developed climate strategy plans, with the report warning that cities need to put them into  action as failure to manage climate risks can be detrimental to a city’s global competitiveness.  

“The key factors for Malaysia’s cities will be to continue improving on our strong urban management  while simultaneously championing projects that will improve liveability, such as transport connections  like light rail and bus lanes that also help with emissions abatement and strategies to address chronic  and acute climate stressors.”  

The analysis up-ends some traditional assumptions about globally competitive cities and reveals how  tomorrow’s leaders could be quite different from successful cities today. Lima is a leader for investor  attractiveness, showing potential to challenge traditional powerhouse cities, with Peru rising as a  regional leader in green finance. Cities like Seoul, Melbourne, and Buenos Aires are championing  climate action and resilience, and are also front runners for investor attractiveness. Barcelona, Berlin  and Toronto, showed strong evidence of promoting inclusivity and equality – a major factor for future  success. But only 29% of cities scored well on inclusivity, showing the need for major improvement  globally. 

The tracker demonstrates how cities are already under siege from climate change. The World Bank  estimates the number of people vulnerable to floods has risen to 1.8 billion.i And it has been  estimated that the number of cities exposed to extreme temperatures - 35°C and above - will triple by  2050ii.  

Miami is one city shown in the study that has taken clear action to manage its exposure to climate  hazards. It launched a $400 million ‘forever bond’ to finance climate resilience, helping build more  water pumps, flood defences, and other vital infrastructure. And while almost half of the cities in the  study have chief sustainability or resilience officers, Miami went a step further – hiring the world’s  first chief heat officer.  

Mr Ram continued: “The tracker points to the growing role of resilience in assessing a city’s long term competitiveness. Under traditional economic and infrastructure indicators, we may not be as  advanced as some global cities, but under this framework, we have the opportunity to increase our  

attractiveness to investors by building resilience to extreme weather like severe heatwaves and  flooding and challenging the traditional powerhouses.”  

Mark Watts, Executive Director at C40 Cities, said: “This new tracker shows how boosting resilience  is a win-win for cities and their residents. This tracker goes beyond just telling them what they are  already doing well and shows the direction they need to take to remain attractive to investors.”

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