The onslaught of the pandemic has left in its wake a worldwide wave of despair and death. It has also transformed the world. Despite the pandemic, worldwide urbanization will continue, particularly in the developing world. The promise of wealth creation, innovation, creativity, and culture will continue to act as a magnet for cities.

The year 2020 showed that in a crisis many ingrained habits of mind can be put aside. A spirit of can-do and why not has made the impossible possible. As former President of Ireland and High Commissioner of Human Rights United Nations Mary Robinson so aptly put it, this pandemic has proven three things: health matters, science matters and government matters.

The Consortium for Sustainable Urbanization flagship conference on Cities Matter; Resilient Cities after Covid-19 consisted of a plenary session, a keynote speech and three panels focusing on health, science, and government. The panelists examined the residue of the pandemic on the cities of today and world of tomorrow and addressed the question of where to from here? A range of prominent speakers from the United Nations, public health, science, governance, and the design professions discussed their perspective on this important issue.