Trend Report Panel Discussion (21 May): 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.

OnDemand Webinar: Preparing for AI - understanding the data groundwork with Sunderland

Discover how Sunderland is turning a strong, city‑wide data foundation into real‑world impact by using secure, scalable AI to transform planning, services, and community outcomes.

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.

A clean and efficient future: energy in focus at Cities Climate Action Summit 2024

Discover how this year’s Cities Climate Action Summit puts the spotlight on the switch to clean and renewable energy, and the importance of energy-efficiency.

Smart Cities Reports

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.

Urban Exchange Podcast Episode 30 – Norfolk: building coastal resilience before the storm

Blending green and grey infrastructure with innovative solutions like 3D printed reefs, discover how the City of Norfolk is tackling its coastal challenges head on.

Opinions

Rebuilding green: Analysing the Biden infrastructure plan

John Fitzgerald, Project Director, Linesight, explains why major reskilling, outreach work by government and the right messaging will be key to realising benefits.

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.

22 - 26 June 2026: Find out more

Most Popular

Urban Exchange Podcast Episode 11 – Gareth Morgan, Cape Town – Mainstreaming and institutionalising urban resilience

30 cities say their greenhouse gas emissions have peaked

Urban Exchange Podcast Episode 10 – Safer Schools: Building resilience in education infrastructure

Vancouver approves Climate Change Adaptation Strategy update

Cities Climate Action Summit 2024 shows the importance of collaboration

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.

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.

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Home | Governance and Citizen | Policymaking

Policymaking

The latest news in policy making on smart city projects and initiatives across the world.

How cities can unlock private investment for urban climate action

How cities can unlock private investment for urban climate action

Climate action20 Apr 2026

A report from C40 Cities explains how cities can develop investable project pipelines, reduce risk, and mobilise private finance for climate adaptation.

Zurich retains top spot in IMD Smart City Index

Zurich retains top spot in IMD Smart City Index

News31 Mar 2026

Transparency, infrastructure and public trust are key to urban success, according to the annual ranking, published by the IMD World Competitiveness Centre.

Sacramento partners to reduce extreme heat exposure

Sacramento partners to reduce extreme heat exposure

Climate action13 Mar 2026

Sacramento City and County is working with experts from the Urban Land Institute to explore ways to put the City’s heat‑reduction strategies into action.

Riga approves air quality improvement action programme

Riga approves air quality improvement action programme

Air quality06 Mar 2026

Planned solutions include introduction of low emission zones, development of park and ride parking lots and transition to electric shared cars and taxis.

Phoenix passes ‘robust’ updated heat response plan

Phoenix passes ‘robust’ updated heat response plan

Climate action02 Mar 2026

The City Council reports that increased awareness continues to make a measurable difference in keeping residents and communities safe during extreme heat.

Milton Keynes sets roadmap for cleaner, greener city

Milton Keynes sets roadmap for cleaner, greener city

Climate action17 Feb 2026

Strategy follows a public consultation and aims to help households save money, improve neighbourhoods and support long‑term health and resilience of the UK city.

New standard speeds up local energy planning in UK

New standard speeds up local energy planning in UK

Planning and redevelopment11 Feb 2026

The standardised Local Authority Common Ask builds on previous cross-sector collaboration and enables local authorities to share granular spatial forecasts.

Municipalities invited to apply for fully funded pilots

Municipalities invited to apply for fully funded pilots

Resilience10 Feb 2026

Pilot projects in the latest Leading Cities’ AcceliGOV programme enable cities to launch proven climate and infrastructure solutions in approximately 90 days.

Vancouver reaffirms commitment to building healthy, inclusive city

Vancouver reaffirms commitment to building healthy, inclusive city

News04 Feb 2026

Renewed framework will guide the City’s work in embedding health and social sustainability across planning, programmes, services and infrastructure delivery.

Latin America accelerates high-impact urban climate action

Latin America accelerates high-impact urban climate action

Climate action29 Jan 2026

C40 Cities and Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean are joining forces to unlock climate finance and fast-track city-led adaptation projects.

Most Popular

ST Engineering to provide smart city platform for Lusail City

The company will build and operate a smart city platform with citywide network connectivity for the Qatar city using advanced AI and data-driven technologies.

Huawei seals smart city deal with Barcelona

They will collaborate on projects relating to 5G, smart city applications and digital transformation.

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.

Solar city goes live

Trina Solar’s PV modules have begun operations in the 10MW Sustainable City in Dubai, which aims to use only clean energy sources

AI used to monitor and optimise Swedish road infrastructure

Computer vision and machine learning specialist, Univrses, will work with the Swedish Transport Administration to digitise and manage roadside infrastructure.

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.

Guest Opinions

Why levelling up will fail without embedding climate action

With climate and nature recovery not built into the UK government’s levelling up bill, Nigel Riglar, past president of ...

Helsinki’s journey to becoming a 15-minute city

Anni Sinnemäki, Helsinki’s deputy mayor for the urban environment, provides expert insight into the Finnish city’s ...

The scalable impact of resilient city solutions

Michael Lake and Zoe Selman of Leading Cities say the key to resiliency is innovative thinking and technology and urge ...

Think Tank: Building Circular Cities

In the latest of our opinion pieces from members of our Advisory Board, we explore how we break away from the linear ...

Think Tank: When the sea swallows your cities

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

Think Tank: Cities on the frontline and lessons for a resilient recovery

In the latest of our opinion pieces from members of our Advisory Board, the question ’how can I build resilience for ...

Why cities need to get smart about maintenance

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

Think tank: Sex(ism) and the city

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

Think tank: City life on Mars? Creating human centred communities in space and beyond

In the latest in our series of opinions from our Advisory Board, the City of Mississauga’s Anthea Foyer says it’s time ...

Resilient cities are being redefined by the coronavirus

Covid-19 is showing us what resilience in cities actually is, writes Stephen Zoegall, director of global cities and ...

The smartest cities on climate: What can we learn?

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

Greenwich’s smart city benchmarking toolkit for adaptability and resilience

Allan Mayo, Smart City Strategist, DG Cities, outlines how DG Cities is using an evidence-based tool to ensure its ...

We examined 885 European cities’ plans to tackle climate change – here’s what we found

Oliver Heidrich, Senior Researcher in Urban Resource Modelling, Newcastle University, and Diana Reckien, Associate ...

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: 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

Trend Report Panel Discussion (21 May): Operating smarter: using digital twins and AI to reshape urban infrastructure management

Webinars

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

Latest Podcast

Cities Thriving on Lighting, Episode 2 – Simplicity by design in smart lighting

Podcasts

Discover the technology and considerations behind how cities can turn existing streetlight networks into secure, interoperable, and future‑proof infrastructure in the second episode of Cities Thriving on Lighting.

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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Most Popular

Tallinn opens second circular economy centre

How cities can unlock private investment for urban climate action

Santa Monica boosts Big Blue Bus fleet with $56m investment

CDP and Google.org team to supercharge environmental action with AI

New Zealand utility deploys AI resilience planning tool

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.

Special Reports

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

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

A clean and efficient future: energy in focus at Cities Climate Action Summit 2024

Cities Climate Action Summit 2024: unlocking climate finance

Cities Climate Action Summit 2024: unlocking climate finance

Research

White Paper: Pathways to supply chain sustainability

White Paper: Pathways to supply chain sustainability

This white paper outlines the key strategies and actions that enterprises need to consider on the path toward scope 3 emissions reduction, advancing sustainability goals, and creating a more resilient future. Packed with practical insights, this white paper provides a roadmap for measurable progress and lasting transformation.

Trend Report: Creating truly open cities

Trend Report: Creating truly open cities

A 14-page Trend Report on the importance of building interoperable smart cities from the ground up

Open and interoperable smart cities: Closing the gap

Open and interoperable smart cities: Closing the gap

A snapshot of IoT and smart city interoperability challenges, strategies and successes