The interconnectedness that global cities once prized risks being eroded and dismantled as Covid-19 lingers and new variants emerge. Success will depend on cities’ ability to balance openness with health protection, growth with better livelihoods, and diversity with local character that fosters a sense of belonging.

Hong Kong has managed the logistics of holding a major international art fair, book fair and industry conferences during the pandemic without seeing outbreaks. Holding one or two premier events with visitors from low-risk locations will boost confidence and cement Hong Kong’s status as a hub for safe meetings.

Ashley Faith Santoso, from the Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, proposes a technological solution to improve walkability in Jakarta by decreasing gender-based violence. Only 8% of Jakarta is walkable, a situation that the Jakarta Walkable 2022 vision aims to remedy. But in a country where three out of five women have experienced sexual harassment …

Matthew Flores, from the Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines, makes the case for greater indigenous representation in urban design. The essay critiques the homogeneity of urban settings in the Philippines and around the world, the result of ideas of modernity and development that are rooted in colonial norms. If indigenous people are given …