Keynote: City of Kranj – reinventing the city: green, smart, future-ready

Few cities of Kranj’s scale have moved as decisively, or as visibly, from ambition to delivery. Named Slovenia’s best municipality for e-mobility in 2021, selected by the European Commission for the EU Mission: Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030, awarded the title of safest city in Slovenia in 2022, recognised as a European Destination of Excellence in 2023, and most recently honoured with both the Golden Stone Award as Slovenia’s most progressive municipality and the DigiAward 2025 for outstanding digital transformation achievement, Kranj has built one of the most compelling smart city track records in Central Europe. In this keynote, Mayor Matjaž Rakovec sets out the strategic and political choices that have driven Kranj’s transformation, from green infrastructure and e-mobility to digital governance and citizen-centred services, and shares the journey of how mid-sized cities are uniquely positioned to lead the next chapter of urban reinvention.

Key talking points:

• Driving impact through the UN Sustainable Development Goals
• Reinventing public procurement with a dynamic purchasing system
• Building a smart and green city for the next generation