Smart City Expo World Congress 2025: The Biggest Ever in Barcelona – Ugo Valenti on Putting Citizens at the Center
The legacy Smart City Expo World Congress built over the years has contributed greatly to shaping not only the global conversation about urban transformation, but its practical implementation. Reflecting on its evolution from the early years to today, how do you see the event having influenced the development of smart cities worldwide?What enduring impact do you think has it made, and how does it continue to lead innovation in this ever-changing field?
Since its launch in 2011, Smart City Expo World Congress has mirrored and shaped the journey of smart cities themselves. What began as a relatively small gathering with the goal of extending the smart city concept globally has evolved into the world’s leading platform for urban innovation and transformation. In our early years, the emphasis was on raising awareness and encouraging cities to rethink how they function. Although that mission remains essentially intact, many things have changed in these 15 years.
Because today, cities occupy just over 2% of the Earth’s land surface but account for more than 70% of global CO₂ emissions and consume over 75% of the world’s energy. As urban populations continue to grow and are projected to reach nearly 70% of the global population by 2050, cities are clearly both the main battlefield and the solution to planetary sustainability.
In a second phase, once everyone knew what smart cities were and why they were the solution, the focus of the event (and also of smart cities) shifted, and technology deployment took center stage. Cities like Singapore pioneered urban data platforms, and Barcelona implemented smart street lighting and sensor networks. These often began as pilot projects, but they proved that scalable, tech-enabled solutions could have a real impact.
Today, in what we could consider a third phase, the focus has moved decisively toward citizen well-being. It seems quite clear today that the most meaningful innovation is not necessarily the most advanced technology, it’s the solution that improves quality of life whether highly technological or not. Initiatives like Amsterdam’s Circular Economy Strategy, Copenhagen’s carbon neutrality efforts, Barcelona’s superblocks, and New York City’s participatory budgeting programs reflect this shift. Smart cities are no longer about technology, they’re about people-first transformation. About reducing inequality and putting citizens at the center of everything.
In your opinion, what are the most transformative trends we should expect to see in smart cities in the near future, and how will they be showcased at this year’s event?
It is always difficult to narrow trends into just a couple of examples, but I’d say that Artificial Intelligence would be one of them. AI is transforming everything and in the urban landscape it is changing how cities manage a wide array of aspects from traffic flows to energy demand. AI-enabled urban systems can manage resources, anticipate challenges, and personalize services, optimize energy use, and improve emergency response.
Second, we are witnessing a rapid evolution in urban digital twins, virtual replicas of cities used to simulate infrastructure changes before physical implementation. Singapore, for example, is leading in this field with its Virtual Singapore project, offering city planners a comprehensive, real-time model of the city. In fact, the very same venue where we hold the event every year, Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Via venue, has its own digital twin, which helps us plan the event and manage it more efficiently in every way. The same is true for cities and our co-located event Tomorrow.Building will cover this theme comprehensively.
Third, the decentralization of energy through micro-grids and citizen-led renewable generation is changing how cities power themselves. Cities like Freiburg and Malmö are leading the way with community energy models that lower carbon footprints and foster local resilience.
All of these trends will be discussed at this year’s Congress and also showcased at our exhibition and innovation zones.
What are you most excited to showcase this year, and how do the key topics of AI, sustainability, and digital transformation fit into this vision? Could you highlight any standout initiatives or new partnerships that will be featured at the event?
I’m particularly excited about how Smart City Expo World Congress grows every year and presents a truly comprehensive vision of urban transformation. Sustainability and digitalization have always been at the core of the smart city vision. Sustainability is the non-negotiable foundation of smart urban transformation. Digitalization and Technology have always been the backbone, the essential tool to achieve change, and AI has arrived to improve how we intertwine them and speed up our journey to a better future.
With over 1,100 exhibitors, more than 600 speakers, and representatives from more than 130 countries, Smart City Expo World Congress 2025 will be the biggest ever and I truly believe the best too. We will bring together not just big tech and governments, but also startups, civil society, and academia.
We’ll also host collocated events such as Tomorrow.Mobility World Congress, organized by Fira de Barcelona and EIT Urban Mobility and aimed at developing a new and sustainable urban mobility paradigm; Tomorrow Building, focused on innovative construction and tackling the worldwide housing crisis; Tomorrow.Blue Economy, aimed at using the full potential of ocean resources for a sustainable economic growth; and also host the fourth edition of the Barcelona Deep Tech Summit, an event organized by Barcelona Activa focused on scientific tech entrepreneurship and university spin-offs.
These is an unmatchable combination of events, of knowledge, of cities, of innovators, aimed at making cities more livable, inclusive, and sustainable that can make a small but important contribution to the global challenge of our generation: Building a better world for the coming generations through our cities.
We, at Mayors of Europe, are committed to fostering collaborative leadership, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to partner with you at this event. With such a diverse range of stakeholders and broad consensus from local governments to tech innovators, what collaborative efforts do you believe are most crucial to unlocking the next wave of smart, sustainable cities in Europe?
Collaboration is the cornerstone of progress. Collaboration at every level. The next wave of smart, sustainable cities in Europe will be unlocked through it. European cities have already demonstrated remarkable leadership: Paris’ Climate Action Plan, Vienna’s social housing innovation, and Helsinki’s MyData movement are just a few examples of how collaborative, citizen-first approaches can deliver significant change.
Although every city is different and what works in one might not necessarily work as good in another, I believe that efforts to create solutions that are scalable across cities and countries will be crucial. The EU’s Mission on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities, which aims to make 100 European cities climate neutral by 2030, is a powerful example of this collaborative ambition.
As someone who has been at the forefront of the smart city movement, what advice would you give to mayors, city planners, and innovators on how they can best leverage the opportunities presented by the Smart City Expo World Congress to create lasting, positive change in their communities?
My advice is clear: come to Barcelona to learn from peers and innovative companies, to connect. The Congress is not only a showcase of best practices: it is a hub of urban transformation knowledge and innovation. We do not only gather the brightest minds, the most daring innovators but the perfect companies and cities to build long-lasting partnerships.
But more importantly, a place where you will find answers to your city’s more pressing challenges and address your citizens’ needs. Cities that succeed in creating lasting positive change are those that start with people and adapt solutions to their local context. The future of cities will be defined not by who adopts the most advanced tools, but by who uses those tools most wisely and equitably. At Smart City Expo, that is the vision in which we believe.
