Lisa Kelvey

A city starts to feel like home in the small, everyday moments: walking down a street, sitting in a square, running errands close by. These experiences depend greatly on how public spaces are designed, managed, and cared for. When people come first, these spaces become more than functional; they foster connection, safety, and a shared sense of belonging. Increasingly, cities are rethinking how public space is planned and maintained, from accessibility and inclusion to the role communities can play in shaping and sustaining it. Creating places that feel welcoming, lived-in, and meaningful is essential to building urban environments that people genuinely value.

Cities face an enormous need for new infrastructure, with significant private capital looking for opportunities to invest. Yet too many projects still struggle to move from ambition to investment and delivery. The challenge is not simply the availability of capital, but creating a stronger pipeline of investable projects with the right commercial structures, allocation of risk and delivery capability. Drawing on emerging findings from new KPMG and World Economic Forum research and perspectives from leaders across the infrastructure and investment community, this discussion will explore how greater collaboration between governments, investors and industry can build confidence, improve investability and ultimately accelerate infrastructure delivery.