The UNESCO-led Global Report, Culture: Urban Future, recently launched in Quito, Ecuador, in mid-October states that: “Culture has the power to make cities more prosperous, safer, and sustainable.”

The report “makes the case that culture needs to be fully integrated into urban strategies to ensure their sustainability, as well as a better quality of life for residents.”

“Culture lies at the heart of urban renewal and innovation. This report provides a wealth of insights and concrete evidence showing the power of culture as a strategic asset for creating cities that are more inclusive, creative and sustainable’’, says Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO.

A cultured city is a creative city, and this idea is particularly apt for MPavilion 2016 as our November series of events this season follow the theme creative cities. With the UNESCO report freshly published, it is timely that we share with you some events that fit under the ‘creative cities’ umbrella in our cultural program at MPavilion, particularly this month, events that will be brimful of ideas about how culture and creativity go hand-in-hand to make great cities.

Early in November Global (Sub)urbanism: Asia, Australia, and creating (sub)urban cultures explores ‘planetary urbanisation’ and contemporary issues in the South Asia region. If culture is vital to make better cities, we can only wonder what Art in the world: A panel discussion will explore, as the arts sector finds its feet in a climate defined by harsh funding cuts and reduced public infrastructure. The most literal straight line of our creative cities month is ‘Creative Citizens = Creative Cities’ with Chris Sanderson—an MTalks that explores how a new cohort of creative citizens are redefining the intersection between space and culture. The High Density Happiness series returns with ‘Equal gender representation in the property industry’, a talk that focusses on the representation of women in the property industry. ‘Cities Alive: Towards a walking world’ is born from the Arup Foresight report of the same name, and explores how a focus on creating walkable cities is ultimately sustainable, healthy, prosperous and attractive. Rounding out the creative cities month is ‘Art, culture and commerce’ with Julia Kaganskiy of NEW INC an MTalks about the NEW INC, joining the formidable forces of arts, culture and commerce, and a whole lot more.