Panel discussion (23 Oct): Trust and tech AI’s future with local government

Join us to explore how local governments are leveraging AI to improve services, boost local economies, and build public trust – while navigating the challenges of ethics and inclusion.

OnDemand Panel Debate: Clearing the air: strategies for enhancing urban air quality

Join the latest SmartCitiesWorld Panel Debate to understand how to improve air quality in urban environments, and hear real-world case studies from leading cities. Watch Here

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.

Blockchain: Hype, hope and growing up in public

A recent Smart Cities World event looked at where things currently stand with blockchain for smarter cities and how we proceed from here.

SmartCitiesWorld City Profile – Atlanta

Find out more about Atlanta’s smart city strategy, focused around equitability and inclusion.

SmartCitiesWorld City Profile – Dortmund

In this edition, we focus on Dortmund in western Germany. With around 600,000 inhabitants, Dortmund is the eighth-largest city in Germany and the gateway to the Rhine-Ruhr region in the heart of Europe.

Podcasts

Opinions

Blockchain and carbon offsetting can help cities reduce emissions – but sometimes simpler is better

The University of Liverpool’s Stephen Finnegan explores the pros and cons of carbon offsetting and outlines Liverpool’s bid to become the UK’s first ’climate positive’ city by the end of 2020.

The internet of things: connecting devices to save the planet, by Manfred Kube, Gemalto M2M, Germany

IoT is already impacting sustainability and outright support of the environment

Home | Opinions

Find out more

Latest City Profile

SmartCitiesWorld City Profile – Dublin

Smart Cities Reports

Find out how Dublin is innovating to improve experiences and services for its communities in the latest SmartCitiesWorld City Profile, including digital twin projects, traffic reduction, and economic growth.

Latest Trend Report

Trend Report 2025: Planning and operating thriving cities – innovation for smarter urban living

Trend Series

Download our latest report to uncover how artificial intelligence is being used to support cities in how they plan and operate city services to ensure they are vibrant, sustainable and economically thriving modern spaces.

Latest Webinar

OnDemand Trend Report Panel Discussion: AI for personalised government services – building trust and inclusivity in cities

Webinars

Join city and industry experts to explore how AI is enabling more personalised, accessible, and trusted government services, and uncover practical strategies for responsible AI adoption that benefits all citizens. Hear from Manchester City Council and the City of Tampere.

Latest Podcast

Podcast: Using mobility data to shape the future of cities

Podcasts

TomTom’s Ralf-Peter Schäfer discusses the power of real-time data in reshaping city life, and what the future holds for smart urban mobility.

Latest Urban Exchange Podcast

Urban Exchange Podcast Episode 31 – Resilient Sydney: 33 local governments, one resilience strategy

Urban Exchange Podcast

Join us for a journey of collaboration on the Urban Exchange Podcast, where we discover how Resilient Sydney is aligning more than 30 local council on a single resilience plan.

BECOME A MEMBER

Build your own Industry Resource Library
Gain access to all SmartCitiesWorld content
Make the most of Industry Webinar Events

Register Login

Most Popular

Nairobi launches air quality action plan and portal

Chicago launches violence reduction dashboard

Glasgow climate plan review reveals community benefits

City of Pittsburgh launches next phase of transparency tool

City of London Corporation introduces GenAI framework

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.

Marc Reinhardt: Public Sector Global Industry Leader at Capgemini

Modernising public services and the $9.8 trillion case for govtech

Opinions23 Apr 2025by Marc Reinhardt: Public Sector Global Industry Leader at Capgemini

Government technology is entering a new era of modernisation, fostering innovations that are enabling a digital and sustainable future, says Capgemini’s Marc Reinhardt.

Jonas Allen: VP of Marketing at Sand Technologies

AI has huge potential for residents – but city leaders must build trust

AI and Machine Learning16 Apr 2025by Jonas Allen: VP of Marketing at Sand Technologies

Jonas Allen, VP of marketing at Sand Technologies, reflects on exclusive new research showing that city residents see the potential of AI, but have concerns about government deploying it in a trustful, transparent manner.

Gregor Stühler: Ceo And Co-Founder, Scoutbee

Creating smarter, data-driven supply chains

Logistics22 Jun 2022by Gregor Stühler: Ceo And Co-Founder, Scoutbee

Gregor Stühler, CEO and co-founder of Scoutbee, explains how by fostering innovation in the procurement industry, public and private sector companies can increase efficiency and create more transparency in supply chains.

Aruj Haider: Chief Digital and Innovation Officer, Westminster City Council

Putting people first: the key priorities for a post-pandemic smart city

Opinions11 Nov 2021by Aruj Haider: Chief Digital and Innovation Officer, Westminster City Council

Westminster City Council’s Aruj Haider on why technology must come second to the people it serves and the importance of translating the values of social inclusion into outcomes.

Noah Baars: Cities Analyst, Circle Economy

The importance of building with – not over – nature

Opinions19 Jul 2021by Noah Baars: Cities Analyst, Circle Economy

Noah Baars, cities analyst, and Laxmi Haigh, lead of editorial, Circle Economy, highlight why cities need to think about environmental and societal challenges in an integrated way.

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.

Beyond the pandemic: the technology that will remain part of our smart cities

Opinions15 Feb 2021by Kevin Grauman, President and CEO, QLess

Covid-19 has brought new kinds of technology into our lives but which will remain beyond the pandemic?

Iskandar shows Malaysia’s smart cities’ promise but only if they keep citizens in mind

Opinions17 Aug 2020by Shawn Tan, CEO, Skymind

Malaysia can show how to build a smart city from scratch but it’s not without its challenges, writes Skymind CEO Shawn Tan

Christopher Bo Shields: Co-Founder at BinumiPro

Video is the next step in transforming city communications

Opinions19 Mar 2020by Christopher Bo Shields: Co-Founder at BinumiPro

Video is a highly engaging format for distributing information and could help cities connect more with residents, says Chris Shields, BinumiPro.

Kyra Appleby: Global Director of Cities, States and Regions, CDP

The smartest cities on climate: What can we learn?

Opinions05 Mar 2020by Kyra Appleby: Global Director of Cities, States and Regions, CDP

More cities must ramp up their climate ambition and deliver urgent action, fast, says Kyra Appleby, Global Director of Cities, States and Regions at CDP.

Data ownership could unleash truly smart cities

Editor's Blog31 Jan 2020by Sarah Wray: Editor, SmartCitiesWorld

A simple way to control personal data could foster greater trust around smart city initiatives and open up a discussion around what citizens really find valuable – an extension of participatory budgeting, giving people a say in how they ‘spend’ their data.

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.

Cristiano Radaelli: Chief Innovation Officer, Planet Smart City

Digital humanism: Quality of life, environment and connected services at the centre of future cities

Opinions09 Dec 2019by Cristiano Radaelli: Chief Innovation Officer, Planet Smart City

Cristiano Radaelli, Planet Smart City, looks at the role of sustainable, tech-enabled housing in future cities.

Grant Samms: Research analyst, Smart cities at Navigant Research

Cities are innovating to build trust around their smart city data

Opinions02 Dec 2019by Grant Samms: Research analyst, Smart cities at Navigant Research

Trust is emerging as the number-one challenge when implementing smart city projects.

Who’s going to clear the air on 5G?

Editor's Blog16 Sep 2019by Sarah Wray: Editor, SmartCitiesWorld

There’s no shortage of hope and hype about the benefits 5G is going to bring but something else is gaining traction too: dissent. Who is going to step up and provide a coherent response?

Stephen Finnegan: Lecturer in Sustainable Architecture, University of Liverpool

Blockchain and carbon offsetting can help cities reduce emissions – but sometimes simpler is better

Opinions23 Jul 2019by Stephen Finnegan: Lecturer in Sustainable Architecture, University of Liverpool

The University of Liverpool’s Stephen Finnegan explores the pros and cons of carbon offsetting and outlines Liverpool’s bid to become the UK’s first ’climate positive’ city by the end of 2020.

Smart cities: How can We help?

Editor's Blog29 Mar 2019by Sarah Wray: Editor, SmartCitiesWorld

The We Company is expanding into smart cities. Why?

Ed Parkes: Independent consultant working on data strategy and open innovation

Are data trusts part of the answer to smart city data governance?

Opinions21 Mar 2019by Ed Parkes: Independent consultant working on data strategy and open innovation

In the light of recent scandals, cities have no choice but to pay urgent attention to data governance issues. Could data trusts be part of the solution?

Jeremy Watson CBE: Director and PI of the PETRAS Hub

Using IoT to inform the next evolution of intelligent energy

Opinions12 Oct 2018by Jeremy Watson CBE: Director and PI of the PETRAS Hub

Jeremy Watson CBE, Director and PI of the PETRAS Hub, looks at how we define and deliver the next generation of intelligent local power grids.

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.

BECOME A MEMBER

BUILD YOUR OWN
RESOURCE LIBRARY

GAIN ACCESS TO ALL
SMARTCITIESWORLD CONTENT

MAKE THE MOST OF
INFORMATIVE WEBINARS