According to the UN Habitat figures, population in urban areas in less developed countries will grow from 1.9 billion in 2000 to 3.9 billion in 2030. This surge in the numbers of dwellers will put a strain on the existing infrastructures, worsen living conditions, create unsanitary environments and carve out slums and disaster prone sites. The threat from unplanned, unbridled and uncoordinated urban development results is real and looms over many cities. Hence it becomes urgent for policy makers to manage urbanization as it occurs by implementing effective land-use management, providing reliable and affordable access to basic services, education, housing, transport and health. We need a collective effort in ensuring a viable future.​

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In the first Assembly from 2011-2016, the competition featured populous epicenters of commerce, that had historical significance and held political legacies and significance in their own period - Hanoi, Iskandar Malaysia, Yangon, Manila and Jakarta. In the second Assembly series, Phnom Penh (2017), and Brunei Darrusalam (2018) were featured. This year, 2025, saw the return of this competition for the first time since COVID, and featured the case study of Planning a Clean & Green City for Phuket, Thailand. ​This international township planning competition – The Young Mayor Competition - hopes to nurture youth leaders for a sustainable future.

 

The competition saw youths from all over Singapore and Malaysia come together to participate in this grueling 3 day competition where they had to pitch and present their ideas to a diverse panel of judges from varying industries. The judges spanned from practicing Architects, Urban Planners, Green Groups and Policy Makers. We had the honor of welcoming Southeast CDC, Mayor Fahmi Aliman, and Her Excellency, Mrs Chonlatee Chanrachakul, Charge d'Affaires, Royal Thai Embassy of Singapore as our Guest-of-Honors for the event and to present the prizes to the winning teams. 

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Thank you to all participating schools, students, judges, volunteers and everyone who came for making The Young Mayor 2025 competition a success and we look forward to the next edition in 2026!