Panel Discussion (30 Jun): Unlocking value in cities from buildings, data and AI

Explore how AI, building data and connected urban infrastructure can help cities improve sustainability, resilience and operational performance.

OnDemand Trend Report Panel Discussion: Operating smarter: using digital twins and AI to reshape urban infrastructure management

Discover how AI-powered digital twins are transforming urban infrastructure and how these innovations can improve efficiency, resilience, and sustainability.

SmartCitiesWorld Summit 2026: connecting climate action, resilience and urban innovation

As cities confront the combined pressures of climate change, infrastructure resilience and digital transformation, the SmartCitiesWorld Summit 2026 will bring together urban leaders and partners during London Climate Action Week to explore how these agendas intersect – and how cities can translate strategy into practical action.

Cities Climate Action Summit 2024: going green in the built environment

The SmartCitiesWorld Summit, which takes place 26-27 June, will act as a call to action for cities to make the transformation of the built environment a central part of their climate action strategies.

Smart Cities Reports

SmartCitiesWorld City Profile – Shenzhen

SmartCitiesWorld City Profiles explore the city of Shenzhen, designated as China’s first special economic zone and a role model of urban modernisation. Find out more about Shenzhen’s smart city strategy in this 16-page report.

SmartCitiesWorld City Profile – Sydney

In 2020, the City of Sydney released a Smart City Strategic Framework to harness the opportunities brought about by digital disruption, to plan for uncertainty and to sustain a global reputation as a leading place to live, work, learn and visit.

Podcasts

Urban Exchange Podcast Episode 32 – Flood and energy resilience in Quezon City

Tune in for the latest Urban Exchange where we get a first-hand account of city resilience measures from Quezon City following unexpected extreme rainfall.

Podcast: Building resilient cities: trustworthy AI, digital twins, and urban innovation at YII 2025Sponsored by Bentley Systems

SmartCitiesWorld speaks with Bentley Systems leaders about unleashing AI and digital twins to drive innovation, resilience, and people-first progress in the world’s cities.

Opinions

Building smarter cities: scaling sustainability and efficiency with smart city platformsSponsored by ST Engineering

ST Engineering’s Richard Ng explains how integrated smart city platforms can support cities in becoming more sustainable and efficient at the scale that is right for them.

Lessons from Italy: Why smart city projects can bridge the urban development gap

Digital Leaders CEO Giuliano Liguori highlights Italy as an example and warning that pushing ahead with smart city plans should ensure access for the worst off, on an individual and municipal level, as top priority.

Home | Opinions

22 - 26 June 2026: Find out more

Latest City Profile

SmartCitiesWorld City Profile – Sunderland

Smart Cities Reports

Find out how Sunderland is repositioning itself as a leading smart city – using digital infrastructure and low-carbon innovation to build a resilient, future-focused economy in the latest SmartCitiesWorld City Profile.

Latest Trend Report

Trend Report: The impact of AI and data on transportation operations and services

Trend Series

Delve into how cities are addressing the challenges of building intelligent transport systems and using AI and data to transform operations and user experience.

Latest Webinar

Panel Discussion (30 Jun): Unlocking value in cities from buildings, data and AI

Webinars

Explore how AI, building data and connected urban infrastructure can help cities improve sustainability, resilience and operational performance.

Latest Summit Speakers
(22-26 June)

Lord Marvin Rees OBE

Former Mayor

Bristol City Council

Find out more

Julie Foley OBE

Director of Flood Risk Strategy & Adaptation

Environment Agency

Find out more

Sherelle Fairweather

Digital Strategy Lead

Manchester’s Digital Strategy

Find out more

Jaromir Beranek

Deputy Mayor for Transport

City of Prague

Find out more

Liz St Louis

Smart City Director

Sunderland City Council

Find out more

Cllr Susan Aitken

Leader

Glasgow City Council

Find out more

Mark Wheeler

CIO

Montgomery County

Find out more

John Moran

Mayor

Limerick City and County Council

Find out more

Matjaž Rakovec

Mayor

City of Kranj

Find out more

Erin Mendenhall

Mayor

Salt Lake City

Find out more

Julia King

The Baroness Brown of Cambridge DBE FREng FRS

House of Lords

Find out more

Latest Podcast

Cities Thriving on Lighting, Episode 3 – What global cities are learning from smart lighting

Podcasts

Join the final episode of Cities Thriving on Lighting to discover how global cities are approaching smart lighting and the related cybersecurity risks today.

Latest Urban Exchange Podcast

Urban Exchange Podcast Episode 32 – Flood and energy resilience in Quezon City

Urban Exchange Podcast

Tune in for the latest Urban Exchange where we get a first-hand account of city resilience measures from Quezon City following unexpected extreme rainfall.

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SmartCitiesWorld Newsletters (Daily/Weekly)

Our editorial newsletter pulls together our latest news items into one email, direct to your inbox. We also feature our latest city interviews, Special Reports and Guest Opinions.

Opinions

We ask cities and industry experts from around the world to give us their opinion on smart city technology and challenges.

Fuad Alsagoff: Senior Manager, Mobility Payment Systems, Urban Solutions, ST Engineering

How AI and biometrics are shaping next-generation mobility payments

Opinions04 Nov 2025by Fuad Alsagoff: Senior Manager, Mobility Payment Systems, Urban Solutions, ST Engineering

Fuad Alsagoff, Senior Manager, Mobility Payment Systems, Urban Solutions at ST Engineering, explains how mobility payments are evolving with a new wave of technology – and how openness and inclusive services are driving adoption.

Dr Chong Chee Chung: Vice President, ITS Architecting, Mobility Road, Urban Solutions, ST Engineering

How cities can get ahead with AI-enabled traffic management

Opinions25 Sep 2025by Dr Chong Chee Chung: Vice President, ITS Architecting, Mobility Road, Urban Solutions, ST Engineering

Dr Chong Chee Chung, Vice President, ITS Architecting, Mobility Road, Urban Solutions at ST Engineering, explains how a combination of deep learning, computer vision and artificial neural networks are transforming urban traffic management.

Richard Ng, Senior Vice President, Smart Sustainable Utilities & Smart Connectivity, Urban Solutions at ST Engineering

Building smarter cities: scaling sustainability and efficiency with smart city platforms

Opinions28 Aug 2025by Richard Ng, Senior Vice President, Smart Sustainable Utilities & Smart Connectivity, Urban Solutions at ST Engineering

ST Engineering’s Richard Ng explains how integrated smart city platforms can support cities in becoming more sustainable and efficient at the scale that is right for them.

John Kimmance: Chief Customer Officer, Ordnance Survey

Why geospatial data is key to building a smarter future

AI and Machine Learning24 Feb 2025by John Kimmance: Chief Customer Officer, Ordnance Survey

Geospatial data is the glue that makes other data interoperable in public and private sector projects, says John Kimmance, chief customer officer at Ordnance Survey.

Manish Jethwa: Chief Technology Officer, Ordnance Survey

Ethical AI, geospatial data and the future of digital transformation

AI and Machine Learning12 Feb 2025by Manish Jethwa: Chief Technology Officer, Ordnance Survey

Manish Jethwa, chief technology officer at Ordnance Survey (OS), looks at how AI will impact the world of geospatial data and why it has developed the responsible AI charter.

Donna Lyndsay: Strategic Market Lead for Sustainability at Ordnance Survey

Harnessing location intelligence for global resilience and sustainable investments

Resilience29 Jan 2025by Donna Lyndsay: Strategic Market Lead for Sustainability at Ordnance Survey

Donna Lyndsay, strategic market lead for sustainability at Ordnance Survey (OS), looks at the role location intelligence and mapping will play in building global resilience and climate action.

Mark Watts, Executive Director, C40 Cities and Claus Mathisen, CEO, Urban Partners

Why now is a pivotal moment for urban climate action

Climate action18 Sep 2023by Mark Watts, Executive Director, C40 Cities and Claus Mathisen, CEO, Urban Partners

Mark Watts, executive director, C40 Cities and Claus Mathisen, CEO, Urban Partners, explain why the 15-minute city concept represents a major opportunity to transform the world’s cities for the better

Empowering campuses with technology and intelligence

Opinions25 Nov 2021by Global Government Business Unit, Enterprise Business Group, Huawei

Campuses are essential to life in every city and it’s critical they are as intelligent and efficient as possible. Zhang Delei and Li Jianbo, global government business unit, Enterprise Business Group at Huawei, explain why this relies on applying the latest digital technologies.

Antonio Natale: GIS expert and project manager, WiseTown

GIS in smart cities: more than just pinning data on maps

Opinions18 Oct 2021by Antonio Natale: GIS expert and project manager, WiseTown

Antonio Natale, GIS expert and project manager at WiseTown, explains why geospatial information technology is ripe for adoption in smart cities

Giuliano Liguori: Founder and CEO, Digital Leaders

Lessons from Italy: Why smart city projects can bridge the urban development gap

Opinions03 Sep 2021by Giuliano Liguori: Founder and CEO, Digital Leaders

Annelore Burggraf: Senior Consultant, Wolfsburg AG

How IoT technology is making parking smarter in Wolfsburg

Opinions16 Jul 2021by Annelore Burggraf: Senior Consultant, Wolfsburg AG

Mathias Petri, founder and CSO, StoneOne and Annelore Burggraf, senior consultant, Wolfsburg AG, explain how the German city is using FIWARE technology to tackle parking problems.

Gianni Minetti: CEO, Paradox Engineering

Smart lighting: why we are discussing it again

Opinions15 Jun 2021by Gianni Minetti: CEO, Paradox Engineering

Smart streetlighting is one of the more mature smart city applications but, when making a business case, cities must ensure they are fully informed of its broader range of benefits, says Gianni Minetti.

Andre ten Bloemendal, Vice President Europe for ChargePoint

Why buses will be the catalyst for electrified public transport

Mobility24 May 2021by Andre ten Bloemendal, Vice President Europe for ChargePoint

Advancing adoption of digital twin technology

Opinions26 Apr 2021by Albert H Seubers

Albert H Seubers, Global Strategy Director Smart X, Atos, and Val De Oliveira, FIWARE Foundation explore how cities can maximise the use of this increasingly valuable technology.

Think Tank: When the sea swallows your cities

Opinions19 Apr 2021by Michael Lake

In the latest of our opinion pieces from members of our Advisory Board, a grim warning is issued about the risk of flooding on coastal communities.

Watch: Cloudera and IBM Storage discuss how cities can unlock the true value of their data

Opinions30 Mar 2021by Douglas O’Flaherty

SCW talks to Cloudera and IBM Storage on the power of big data and machine learning

Alexander Zschaler, Regional sales director, Cloudera

Podcast: The data tech unlocking new value in smart cities

Opinions23 Mar 2021by Alexander Zschaler, Regional sales director, Cloudera

In the latest SmartCitiesWorld podcast, Graeme Neill speaks to Alexander Zschaler, regional sales director at Cloudera Germany.

Why cities need to get smart about maintenance

Opinions10 Mar 2021by Chris Turlica, CEO, MaintainX

A new approach to maintenance work is the key to revitalising our cities, writes Chris Turlica, CEO of MaintainX.

Shagun Sethi, Corporate Social Responsibility at Grant Thornton

Think tank: Sex(ism) and the city

Opinions08 Mar 2021by Shagun Sethi, Corporate Social Responsibility at Grant Thornton

In the latest of our opinion pieces from members of our Advisory Board, the question of whether our cities are truly gender inclusive is posed.

What is ‘Smart City’ and why do we need them?

Smart city is the framework based on Information and Communication technologies that enable the development of sustainable practices to address the urbanisation challenges. Leveraging the technology is one of the foremost pillars of ‘smart cities’ in order to increase efficiencies and improve the quality of resident’s life and the city’s services.

SmartCitiesWorld Newsletters (Daily/Weekly)

Our editorial newsletter pulls together our latest news items into one email, direct to your inbox. We also feature our latest city interviews, Special Reports and Guest Opinions.