UAE: Roland Berger, in collaboration with the World Governments Summit (WGS), on Thursday announced the release of the report “Future-Proofing Cities in the Age of Polycrisis: A Playbook for Future-Ready Cities.”

This paper presents a comprehensive framework to help cities across the Middle East anticipate, adapt to, and shape the future in an era defined by converging and interdependent crises.

Developed with a particular focus on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the playbook positions the region as a global laboratory for future-ready urbanism. It calls for a fundamental shift from traditional, reactive resilience toward institutionalized urban foresight and adaptive governance.

Mohamad Yamout, Partner at Roland Berger Middle East, said  “Cities are entering an era defined by polycrisis: cascading, overlapping risks that increasingly test government services, infrastructure and institutional capacity. Traditional models of resilience, focused primarily on recovery, are no longer sufficient.”

He added: “As we highlight in the playbook, the Middle East is already at the forefront of urban innovation. By embedding foresight into every layer of governance, cities can turn crisis into opportunity and set new global benchmarks for adaptability, moving from reactive crisis management toward proactive, future-oriented development”, he added

The paper argues for a shift toward urban foresight and strategic adaptability, calling on city leaders to embed scenario planning and continuous adjustment into everyday governance.

At the heart of the playbook is a five-pillar framework to guide strategy and investment:

Adaptive Infrastructure & Urban Systems

Designing modular, climate-resilient and smart infrastructure supported by digital twins, real-time monitoring and predictive analytics.

Strategic Foresight & Governance Agility

Establishing foresight units, applying scenario planning and regulatory sandboxes, and strengthening cross-sector coordination to enable faster, more coherent responses to emerging risks.

Environmental Regeneration & Resource Foresight

Moving beyond mitigation toward regeneration through climate-risk modelling, renewable energy, nature-based solutions, circular economy measures and biodiversity-led planning.

Human & Social Well-Being

Prioritizing preventive health, lifelong learning, social inclusion and civic engagement to build cohesive, skilled communities capable of adapting to disruption.

Digital Intelligence & Innovation Ecosystems

Leveraging open data, AI, innovation hubs and strong cybersecurity to create cities that sense change in real time and act on it responsibly.