It is a stark reality that our cities will never be the same again given our dismal and challenging experience with the Covid-19 pandemic. This pandemic has caused a major reset in our cities and triggered a rethinking of the way we manage the production space, the circulation space and the social space. There is an urgent need to adapt our cities and municipalities to be more resilient with emerging pandemics and to ensure that robust health safety protocols can be embedded in citizens' behavior as well as in infrastructure design.

Given the unprecedented disruptions caused by the current health crisis, the situation has also opened the minds of people to transform digitally and physically. It has also created opportunities for adopting more safe, resilient and sustainable infrastructure in addressing the demand for urbanization and industrialization.

As urbanization and industrialization continue to accelerate, this will raise the challenge of improving the quality of life for citizens and will require the adoption of more innovative ideas as well as technologies that support a safe, resilient and sustainable future. Such innovations will guide stakeholders in the process of urbanization and infrastructure development in order to meet the demand for safety, connectivity, resource efficiency, mobility, public services, among others.

This forum will inform participants about the status of urbanization and infrastructure development in the country as well as highlight the transformations that the country needs to prepare for moving forward.