Track: Governance & Economy

Modern city planners must foster inclusive governance while promoting social inclusion. This session invites you to explore innovative approaches and tools designed to empower citizens, bridge divides, and create more equitable and participatory societies.

Our startups will delve into the intersection of governance and living inclusion, highlighting cutting-edge technologies, policies, and community-driven initiatives. We will discuss how technology can serve as a catalyst for change, providing tools that enhance transparency, citizen engagement, and collaboration in decision-making processes.

A Loom With a View – Weaving the digital future of communities, cities and regions is the 2023 motto that links the themes of Major Cities of Europe. Our goal is to explore and discuss the impact of digitization and climate transition in local public administration. It will be the occasion to listen to the Tuscany association of cities ANCI Toscana, the Flemish association V-ICT-OR, The city of Prato, the city of Florence and Smart Dublin.

Panel Description: Reimagining Smart Cities - Boosting Innocities and Scaling Startup Ecosystems Join us as we embark on a visionary exploration of Smart Cities, redefining the concept of Innocities and their boundless potential to catalyze the growth of startup and business ecosystems. This visionary model envisions a holistic urban system where the private sector/corporates (focusing on key verticals), the public sector (institutions, platforms, and associations), the knowledge sector (universities and educational partners), and engaged citizens converge, synergizing their efforts towards social and sustainable impact. Key Panel Highlights: 1. The Model: Unpacking Strategies and Objectives of an Innovation District · Delve into the intricacies of Innovation Districts, exploring their strategies, objectives, and transformative potential. 2. Urban Planning: Crafting Sustainable and Creative Cities · Explore innovative urban planning approaches that foster sustainability, creativity, and inclusivity in our cities. 3. Hall 1 | Plaza: Innovation

Convening of the Council of Global City CIOs, an international group comprised of CIOs from cities across Europe that share best practices, and practical hands-on strategic advice. The group is facilitated by the Cities of Paris and the Hague, with administrative and logistical support from Bloomberg Associates.

Beyond the warm sunshine and tasty food, Portugal is turning into a Smart country. We explore the pragmatic implementation of Smart Cities in Portugal and provide insights into how these strategies are driving progress in areas such as mobility, waste management, and sustainability, within Portuguese cities. In this cruise, we engage in a thoughtful discussion about the practical aspects of Smart Cities and their impact on our communities.

Our world is in urgent need of more sustainable solutions, to create better lives for our citizens and a better planet. Amsterdam Smart City has 14 years of experience in enabling societal transitions through multi-stakeholder collaboration and open innovation, which will be shared in this keynote talk.

How can cities thrive in uncertain times? From embracing emerging technologies to reimagining infrastructure and fostering global collaboration, urban centers keep exploring innovative strategies to stay ahead of the unprecedented challenges they are facing. At the heart of it all: innovative and resourceful governance.

The EUIPO will explain how to better understand the EU initiatives they are implementing to provide financial support and guidance to EU businesses. Owning IP rights, such as trademarks, designs or patents, is crucial for any company to be protected in a global market. In this session we will tell you how to protect your innovation and how to use the funds available for EU SMEs on IP to avoid potential challenges you might face.

The session builds on the previous session held for Chief Resilience Officers at the SCEWC and takes stock of the current network of CRO and equivalents. This session builds on the discussion under the Governance thread focusing on urban resilience to 1. Strengthen the global network of CRO, 2. Explore and identify similar models for community and territorial scales, 3. Identify how resilience can be embedded in local and regional governance.

Before investing in innovative and scalable ventures, it's essential for investors to understand how to assess and measure the sustainability impact of their investments. This round table session will delve into the key metrics and methods for evaluating the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance of investments related to smart cities and sustainability.

The session will be focused on presenting the main projects, business opportunities and investment incentives in the metropolis of Barcelona and it aims to promote the territory, in order to attract companies in the ICT and Smart City sectors. During the session, the metropolitan cities will present several investment opportunities and strategic locations to settle in business projects for the Smart City sector.

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Following the General Assembly which happens during the Bordeaux’s digital society, digital cities events in October, the CC4DR meeting will focus on taking collaboration to the next level by presenting the renewed missions and services of the Coalition. It will be the occasion for the members to define their role and participation in the actions and roadmap of the three services: the Digital Righs Academy, the Digital Rights Lab and the Digital Rights Think Tank. This is an internal, by invitation only meeting where representatives of the CC4DR's member cities gather to work together on pushing the Coalition's activity further.

During this peer-to-peer exchange, led by the City of Barcelona, CIOs from cities around the world meet annually during Smart City Expo World Congress Barcelona.

In an era of rapid urbanization, the concept of a "smart city" has become increasingly popular. Smart cities leverage technology and data to improve the quality of life for their residents, enhance efficiency, and address urban challenges. However, there is a growing recognition that the road to smart cities should be paved with green infrastructure and a deep appreciation for ecosystems. Ecosystems, with their intrinsic ability to support sustainable living, are emerging as essential partners in the quest for urban smartness.

Smart City Association Korea, Ellie Lee - Global Project Manager
Smart City Institute Japan, Takehiko Nagumo-Executive Managing Director
Smart City Cluster Spain, Daniel González Bootello - Managing Director
Moderator: Isabel Sabadí, Managing Director 22@Network Barcelona

Rapid urbanization, climate change, pandemics, conflicts and digitalization are the major trends that are shaping urban environments. Cities are rapidly deploying technology to modernize their operations and to address a wide range of urban challenges. An intergovernmental process to develop international smart city guidelines, building on existing agreements and standards, could help promote good governance and facilitate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and the commitments in the New Urban Agenda.

Sandboxes, urban labs, smart offices, or controlled test environments are presented as spaces where new technologies, services and innovative business models can be tested. While Spain is articulating legal frameworks for their implementation on a state level, local entities are positioned strategically due to their proximity to citizens and the ownership of public spaces and infrastructures. This session will share the success stories of sandboxes being implemented in Santander, Alcoi, Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia.

Learn more about:

• The regenerative city: How can we heal our cities to face the challenges of climate change?

• Artificial intelligence for the city: How Paris 2024 Olympics could be a showcase for the future of smart cities?

• Attracting investments: How to attract foreign investors to support sustainable urban development?

#FrenchFab #ChooseFrance

Xavier Marcet, a consultant in strategy, innovation and transformation of organizations with more than fifteen years of experience, will participate with an inspiring talk at the Smart City Barcelona congress, where he will address topics such as, leadership, transformation and change management of organizations of the future. He highlights that innovation is no longer enough, must come with it change management to complete the necessary transformation, especially in the context of smart cities.

Investment in pre-seed and seed phases of Deeptech startups are the interest of this session. An investor, a system connector and an startup will share their interests and how they evaluate mobility solutions and key words that allow to succeed in the match of investment.

In this session different public entities will present their demands formulated within a process of Innovation Procurement. They will present their projects that will end up in a call for tenders to buy a solution that does not yet exist on the market, that is why they are public innovation procurements. If you are a solution provider, you are interested in this session to know about these opportunities.

How can we unleash the full potential of data to improve policymaking at local and regional level and take better-informed decisions? How can we work together across borders and levels of governance? What is the role of local digital twins in achieving this?

In Living-in.EU, we bring together cities, regions, and member states to discuss the way forward. We look into the European Digital Infrastructure Consortium on Networked Local Digital Twins Towards CitiVerse, its potential, and also of a wider range of joint actions.

Resourceful governance empowers global cities to drive progress. Internationalization strategies, circular economy models, and innovative financing schemes are shaping vibrant urban hubs that retain talent, foster prosperity, and embrace innovation. Amidst all this progress, how can city leaders ensure that they maintain a people-centred approach?

Cities spend $6 trillion USD annually buying goods and services. This represents a huge lever to inspire, identify and introduce innovation to local services. Public procurement has a reputation for being a barrier rather than a boost to innovation, but this need not be the case. Join this insight rich session to learn how pioneering place leaders around the world are using their procurement power to spark new solutions, which deliver new citizen experiences, optimise service delivery and realise net zero ambitions - and discover the tools including model policies you need to help your city to join the movement! This session will showcase new resources from the World Economic Forum / G20 Smart Cities Alliance and the U4SSC Thematic Group on Procurement Guidelines for Smart and Sustainable Cities.

The new report Managing Smart City Governance – A playbook for Local and Regional Governments provides evidence-based guidance for local leaders and municipal administrations involved in smart city projects. For each component of the governance framework developed in the Global Review – Strategy, Collaboration, Technology – it identifies a set of practical recommendations, supported by examples from cities around the world. The recommendations presented are intended to help cities to develop more effective, inclusive and sustainable governance practices for urban digital transformation.

What is a CRO and what do they do? How can resilience be institutionalised at smaller scales scales? How can resilience institutionalisation leverage and build on indigenous knowledge? Through the representation from indigenous communities, cities and territories, this session will showcase experiences first-hand while regional and international organisations will offer a global perspective.

NASA's technology commercialization efforts have yielded significant advancements that can revolutionize numerous sectors, including smart cities. This breakout session aims to bring together experts, thought leaders, and policymakers to explore the potential of NASA's technology commercialization in enhancing governance practices within smart cities.

Smart cities utilize Big Data solutions to enhance urban living. By analyzing vast amounts of data from sources like Health, The Urban Property Tax, Tax Intelligence, Tourism and enhance Public Safety. Evidence-based solutions must be the heart of a smart city, Therefore, we will present a set of solutions based on big data.

The side-event will discuss responsible and inclusive planning, design, use and governance of AI in cities, and the launch of two reports: the ‘Global Assessment of Responsible AI in Cities’, to better understand the needs of local governments in relation to artificial intelligence and the ‘Trends in Urban Resilience 2024’ with highlights on ‘AI for Resilient Cities’ and focus on opportunities for big data and AI to support resilience.

The Digital Rights Governance Project has been developed simultaneously in Europe and Latin American cities to support local governments to safeguard human rights in digital environments. The projects aimed at increasing local capacities to lead people-centred digital transformation strategies and tools. This panel will bring together representatives from the participant cities to share insights and learnings from local implementation.

In order to align with the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) of the European Union and drive the global effort towards reaching climate neutrality goals, UTMC is targeting the Mediterranean region by organising a regional in Barcelona within the framework of the Smart City Expo World Congress, the world’s biggest and most influential event on urban innovation. 

See latest agenda here.

More info:

Mission Innovation
The Urban Transitions Mission
Conference Center | Zone: CC1 – Room 1.5

PPP for Cities Research Center partners with Aretian Urban Analytics to bring you an exclusive gathering of thought leaders and experts in urban development. Ramon Gras will present his book which offers a overview of the latest advancements in City Science. A roundtable will follow where the Speakers will discuss about how policymaking can benefit from advances in urban science and address complex urban challenges facing our cities.

Preliminary consultation discussion on priorities and needs for the development of international guidelines on people-centred smart cities and how it can provide guidance to Member States to practically put in place the New Urban Agenda, such as the need to adopt a smart city approach, the importance of citizen-centric digital governance and the need to make ICT available to all.

The Malaysian Government is highly committed to working with the private sector to create a better future for our cities and citizens. The Government collaborates with the private sector on various high-impact projects, aiming to mitigate the impacts of hyper-urbanisation and provide opportunities for local tech players to showcase their capabilities. The speech will highlight a few notable examples of collaborations that have been undertaken and their benefits to the country, industry, and its people.

True collaboration is the key! Learn from US Mayors and city leaders about their determination to re-invigorate the economy of their cities. Expert at innovation, join us to learn about their toughest challenges—from affordable housing to immigration to climate crisis issues to to anti-racism issues to compassionate cities to youth employment to infrastructure investments.

Urban challenges are more complex than ever. To address them, cross-sector collaboration in governance is crucial. Governments are starting to tap into the potential of citizen participation and the involvement of the private sector to create inclusive and sustainable urban environments. What is the best way for cities to find a balance between the co-creation of the cities and maintaining effective decision-making processes?

Cities are embracing new economic models to attract talent and foster vitality. Beyond mere economic growth, these new blueprints aim to foster holistic local development, to enhance efficiency and to promote innovative ecosystems. What challenges and opportunities do shifting economic paradigms present? How can cities become vibrant hubs of inclusive innovation and progress?

In the lead up to the COVID-19 pandemic, cities like San Francisco were viewed as models for the future. Their embrace of the tech economy built new skyscrapers and transformed the urban landscape. Then, the world changed. Learn how cities like San Francisco are reinventing themselves, rethinking the possibilities of urban living, and providing a model for building more resilient cities and urban economies.

This round table session brings together experienced scouters from different regions to discuss best practices in identification of the most innovative and disruptive start-ups with a specific focus on success stories about closing the gender gap and boosting female entrepreneurship. Attendees will gain valuable insights about how this commitment to inclusivity and diversity drives transformative changes in the mobility ecosystem.