Alfonso Vegara is an architect, urban planner, economist, sociologist and president of Fundación Metrópoli, which is a Spanish foundation dedicated to studying future of cities around the world, as well as working with cities on issues of innovation and competitiveness.

On the Breakfast Grille, he discusses:

-- why cities now the engine of the global economy

-- how it is no longer countries competing with each other, it is cities

-- smart cities: Cities that have been successful in their transformation

-- why solutions that are successful in some cities, may not be applicable in other cities

-- how polical leadership and business leadership is key for cities of the future Alfonso Vegara also talks about his work in Penang, how he is collaborating with Think City to transform the city into a sustainable urban eco-region, and the strategic location of Penang within the Malacca Straits Diagonal

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