City representatives and decision-makers to join Forum Europe’s Future City Conference

On 15 & 16 June, at Forum Europe's inaugural Future City Conference, European and national policy-makers, regional decision-makers and city representatives as well as top level industry experts will gather online to discuss the role that European cities can play in the twin transitions towards climate neutrality and digital leadership.

Urbanisation is an ongoing trend in the EU, with latest figures showing that 75% of Europe’s population lives in cities. As the places where people live, work, learn, create, consume and socialise, cities are major drivers of socio-economic growth. Urban sprawl and increasingly growing populations have however created some major challenges within cities, impacting the environment, the delivery of public services, land management, infrastructure, resource consumption and has exacerbated inequalities. All of these challenges have been particularly put to the forefront during the Covid-19 crisis, with various levels of lockdowns and restrictions leading citizens to rethink the way they interact with their surroundings.

This conference will explore the innovative tools as well as the policy and financial support available to cities to respond to existing and pressing challenges and ask what more is needed. It will discuss the impact that digital technologies, combined with a strong focus on sustainability and a human-centric approach, can have to facilitate the transformation of cities into agile, efficient, green and resilient places, to improve the quality of life of their inhabitants and promote social cohesion.

Featuring examples of cities that have unlocked significant economic, environmental and social benefits thanks to successful transformation strategies with green and digital aspects at their core, it will analyse the lessons learnt and highlight the importance of cooperation amongst governments at different territorial levels, and of collaboration between industry, universities, local businesses and citizens. Finally, it will ask how new ways of thinking about the design and planning of cities can be further promoted to sustain urban growth and to embed urban resilience and adaptation in the recovery planning in line with the goals of the EU Urban Agenda, with the plans outlined in the European Industrial Strategy, Data Strategy and the Green Deal, and in accordance with the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Confirmed speakers to date include:

• Anna Scavuzzo, Deputy Mayor of Milan
• Mihhail Kõlvart, Mayor of Tallinn
• Theo Blackwell, Chief Digital Officer for the Mayor of London
• Mikko Rusama, Chief Digital Officer, City of Helsinki
• Michael Donaldson, CTO, City of Barcelona
• Lasse P. N. Olsen, Mayor of Environment and Energy, Aalborg Municipality
• Anna-Vera Deinhammer, Coordinator for the Construction Industry, and program lead for DoTank Circular City Wien 2020-2030, City of Vienna 
• Dubravka Suic,. Vice President for Democracy and Demography, European Commission
• Ditte Juul Jørgensen, Director General for Energy, European Commission
• Lilyana Pavlova, Vice-President, European Investment Bank

…amongst many others!

More information about confirmed speakers, registration and opportunities to become involved is available on the event website www.the-future-city.com.

Check out the conversation on Twitter: #futurecityconf