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Webinars

OnDemand Global Local Executive Panel: From Smart Cities to Sustainable Futures – AI and Local Governance

In this virtual session, panellists will explore innovative approaches to issues such as urban planning, transportation, and public safety, with a specific focus on the role of local governments in implementing AI solutions.

VIRTUAL DEBATE: How will 5G assist a rapidly urbanising world?

How can 5G be used to improve life in cities, and address the urban challenges of mobility, public health, ageing, city-planning, and resilience.

Special Reports

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.

Smart City Expo: think digital, think green, think inclusion

The first day of the online event confirmed that the smart cities sector is well aware of its destination but it’s how it gets there that will be the problem.

Smart Cities Reports

Podcasts

Urban Exchange Podcast Episode 29 - Financing city resilience

Roland White, Global Lead for City Management, Finance and Governance at the World Bank talks us through what it will take to fund resilience at the necessary scale across the world.

Podcast: The central role of cities in the sharing economy, with Chelsea Rustrum

There’s a big opportunity for cities to better harness the sharing economy to achieve municipal goals and give power back to the people, Rustrum says.

Opinions

The future of smart city technologySponsored by Huawei

Imagination and vision is required to enable successful digital transformation in our cities, writes Huawei’s Nadim Abdulrahim.

Overcoming the innovation gap

There is a gap between the aspirations of cities and the true capabilities of smart city technology, writes Anders Lisdorf.

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

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Julie Foley OBE

Director of Flood Risk Strategy & Adaptation

Environment Agency

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Sherelle Fairweather

Digital Strategy Lead

Manchester’s Digital Strategy

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Jaromir Beranek

Deputy Mayor for Transport

City of Prague

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Liz St Louis

Smart City Director

Sunderland City Council

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Cllr Susan Aitken

Leader

Glasgow City Council

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Mark Wheeler

CIO

Montgomery County

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John Moran

Mayor

Limerick City and County Council

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Matjaž Rakovec

Mayor

City of Kranj

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Erin Mendenhall

Mayor

Salt Lake City

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Julia King

The Baroness Brown of Cambridge DBE FREng FRS

House of Lords

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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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Boston hosts its first-ever Tech Week

Bogotá launches journey planning solution for transport system

UK council boosts EV transition with 200 new charge points

Singapore to test physical AI in Punggol Digital District

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.

Mariusz Zabrocki: UK General Manager at FREENOW

How flexible mobility spending can contribute to sustainability goals in the public sector

Electric vehicles13 Jul 2023by Mariusz Zabrocki: UK General Manager at FREENOW

Mariusz Zabrocki, UK General Manager at FreeNow, explains how flexible mobility benefits can help replace private car trips and build a city’s sustainability.

Hong-Eng Koh: Global Chief Public Services Industry Scientist, Huawei’s Enterprise Business Group

Defining the path for public service digitalisation

Data management & software05 Jul 2023by Hong-Eng Koh: Global Chief Public Services Industry Scientist, Huawei’s Enterprise Business Group

Hong-Eng Koh, Global Chief Public Services Industry Scientist for Huawei’s Enterprise Business Group, details how to lay the critical foundations for smarter, more efficient public services.

Vital EV charging developments that could go even further

Electric vehicles13 Apr 2022by Neil Isaacson: Ceo, Liberty Charge

Neil Isaacson, CEO of public charge point operator Liberty Charge, discusses why the UK Government’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy is an important step in the right direction, and where it can go even further.

Financing city digitisation in a post-pandemic world

Opinions05 Mar 2021by Amr Salem, CEO, Quantela

Cities are facing a post Covid financial squeeze but there are ways of funding new projects.

Nadim Abdulrahim, Global Government Industry Expert, Huawei

The future of smart city technology

Opinions02 Dec 2020by Nadim Abdulrahim, Global Government Industry Expert, Huawei

Imagination and vision is required to enable successful digital transformation in our cities, writes Huawei’s Nadim Abdulrahim.

York Yuekun, President of the Global Government Business Dept, Huawei

Jointly building a smart city helps us all enjoy better urban lives

Opinions24 Nov 2020by York Yuekun, President of the Global Government Business Dept, Huawei

Closed ecosystems mean limited choices, limited innovation, limited success, writes York Yuekun.

How Covid-19 has made smart cities smarter than ever

Opinions16 Nov 2020by Mark Nicholson: CEO, Vivacity Labs

Covid-19 is speeding up the changes to our transport networks, writes Mark Nicholson, CEO of Vivacity Labs

Jacques Vermeulen, Director of Future Cities, Nokia

Think Tank: collaboration, as much as tech, will rebuild smart cities

Opinions26 Oct 2020by Jacques Vermeulen, Director of Future Cities, Nokia

In the first of a new series, SCW board members will write about the burning issues facing smart cities. First is Jacques Vermeulen, Nokia’s Director of Future Cities.

Overcoming the innovation gap

Opinions15 Jun 2020by Anders Lisdorf

There is a gap between the aspirations of cities and the true capabilities of smart city technology, writes Anders Lisdorf.

Could FWA be the answer to keeping people connected during the global pandemic?

Opinions01 Jun 2020by James Bristow, SVP EMEA, Cradlepoint

Fixed Wireless Access’s speed and flexibility could have it serve a crucial role in helping businesses and public services rebuild in the wake of the coronavirus crisis, writes James Bristow, SVP EMEA, Cradlepoint

Covid-19: Thank you and an update

Opinions06 Apr 2020by Chris Cooke

A message to SmartCitiesWorld’s readers from the company’s founder and CEO.

Clint Vince: Chair of Dentons’ Smart Cities and Communities Think Tank.

The 14 pillars of a smart city

Opinions26 Mar 2020by Clint Vince: Chair of Dentons’ Smart Cities and Communities Think Tank.

Strategies must take a holistic approach encompassing people, institutions, structures and operations, say Clint Vince, founder of Dentons’ Smart Cities and Communities Think Tank, and Jennifer Morrissey, counsel at Dentons.

Smart cities: Overpromised and underdelivered

Opinions26 Feb 2020by Paul Moorby: CEO and founder, Chipside

Smart city projects must move away from the standard applications that many focus on and make a "technological leap", says Paul Moorby, CEO and founder of Chipside, a specialist software development company providing products and services to local and regional government traffic authorities in the UK.

Andy Taylor: Directory of Strategy, Cubic Transportation Systems

Driving the MaaS conversation forward as the future of transport

Opinions19 Feb 2020by Andy Taylor: Directory of Strategy, Cubic Transportation Systems

Mobility-as-a-service will only be successful if we can all come together to realise a joint vision of ensuring seamless travel for every commuter, says Andy Taylor, Director of Strategy, Cubic Transportation Systems.

The future of smart city tech: Helping governments be proactive, not reactive

Opinions07 Feb 2020by Michael Allegretti: Chief Strategy Officer, Rubicon

Applying smart technology to waste and recycling fleets provides a win for citizens, governments and the environment, and helps build equitable communities, says Rubicon’s Michael Allegretti.

Rabih Arzouni: Chief Technology Officer for Transport, Fujitsu EMEIA

New energy, changing behaviour and blockchain: 5 transport predictions for 2020

Opinions06 Jan 2020by Rabih Arzouni: Chief Technology Officer for Transport, Fujitsu EMEIA

Rabih Arzouni, Fujitsu UK’s CTO of transport, shares his transport predictions for the year ahead.

Matthew James Bailey: Smart city advisor and author

Towards the smart cities of 2025

Opinions31 Dec 2019by Matthew James Bailey: Smart city advisor and author

From tech trends to behavioural shifts and new ways to make smart cities economically sustainable, Matthew James Bailey explores what the next five years could look like.

Smart city trend tracker: The top stories on SmartCitiesWorld in 2019

Special Reports20 Dec 2019by Sarah Wray: Editor, SmartCitiesWorld

We round up our main takeaways from smart city developments in 2019. We’d love to hear yours.

Ian Lloyd: Strategic Growth Manager, Siemens

How to power smart cities in a clean, low-carbon future

Opinions22 Nov 2019by Ian Lloyd: Strategic Growth Manager, Siemens

Microgrids transform urban energy into localised, efficient, resilient and sustainable systems, and investment in them will be critical to the future operation of the energy system, says Ian Lloyd, Strategic Growth Manager, Siemens.

Most Popular

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.