For three days, the Smart City Expo World Congress 2023 (SCEWC23) brought together business, government, and organizational stakeholders, both national and international, to discuss the future of sustainable mobility.
At the Fira Barcelona venue, industry leaders addressed challenges faced by cities in areas such as mobility, governance, sustainability, and inclusion.
This edition achieved record-breaking figures, with over 25,000 attendees from 140 countries, 1,000 exhibitors, 500 speakers, and 270 sessions.
Together, the events hosted a total of 1,106 exhibitors, a 29.7% increase from 2022, showcasing their latest projects and solutions.
Prominent industry leaders such as KIA, PWC, Renfe, Deloitte, BSM, Moventis, Siemens, Aramco, Axis, Cisco, Dassault Systemes, among others, were highlighted.
Not only that, but more than 800 cities from 140 countries, including Brazil, China, Estonia, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Portugal, and the United States, participated, showcasing their latest initiatives for managing mobility and other urban services.
The goal? Showcase intelligent solutions contributing to the development of safer, greener, and more efficient community spaces, with sustainable mobility being a key proposition.
The congress featured innovative projects such as AI-equipped electric scooters, modular cabins creating workspaces in public areas, self-sorting smart waste bins, autonomous buses for public transportation, space-saving foldable vehicles, and drones ready for goods delivery.
The Brazilian city of Curitiba was honored as the Smart City 2023 in the World Smart City Awards.
These awards annually recognize the most outstanding initiatives and projects in the innovation and urban transformation industry.
The judges awarded the metropolis for its approach to smart urban planning, socio-economic growth, and commitment to environmental sustainability in addressing present and future urban challenges.
Moreover, the Leadership Award for this edition was granted to Anna Lisa Boni, Deputy Mayor of Bologna and Secretary General of Eurocities from 2014 to 2021, and Claudio Orrego, Governor of the Metropolitan Region of Santiago, Chile.
Distinguished speakers included Nathan Blecharczyk, co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Airbnb, FC Barcelona President Joan Laporta, and computer scientist and algorithmic bias expert Margaret Mitchell.
Ugo Valenti, Director of SCEWC, affirms: “The outcome of the Smart City confirms that we are ushering in a new era for cities, focused on innovation and sustainability.”
Maria Tsavachidis, CEO of EIT Urban Mobility and President of Tomorrow.Mobility World Congress, expresses:
“We are inspired by the knowledge exchange and collaborations that emerged during the event, and we look forward to ongoing cooperation within the urban mobility ecosystem to ensure cities become more livable for everyone.”
Smart City: Global Center of Innovation
In addition to SCEWC, Tomorrow.Mobility World Congress, Tomorrow.Building, Tomorrow.Blue Economy, and PuzzleX were held.
These reinforced the event’s position and Barcelona as a global hub for intelligent solutions to address the challenges faced by cities.
Tomorrow.Mobility World Congress (TMWC) celebrated its third edition with the aim of accelerating the transition to sustainable urban mobility.
Under the motto “Make your Move Matter,” the event, jointly organized by Fira de Barcelona and EIT Urban Mobility, focuses on eight fundamental themes:
- Data Spaces, Inclusion, Affordability, and Equity;
- Connected, Cooperative, and Automated Mobility;
- Sustainable Urban Logistics;
- Multimodality;
- Urban Air Mobility;
- Energy Transition;
- Active Mobility.
One of the central themes has been developing strategies to support public transport as a crucial component to improve city livability and achieve ambitious emission reduction goals.
Tomorrow.Building represents a new space focused on transforming the construction industry towards a more sustainable and digitized future.
Prominent companies and experts, such as Samsung C&T, Siemens, Samoo Architects & Engineers, and Drees & Sommer, presented their latest projects.
The conferences focused on topics such as digital and sustainable construction, building renovation and decarbonization, as well as smart buildings and infrastructure and PropTech.
PUZZLE X explored exponential technologies promising to reshape the future in unprecedented ways.
Topics covered include exotic computing, AI, quantum cities, ultimate connectivity, the Matterverse, brain interfaces, 6G, and digital atoms.
The conferences featured speakers such as Nobel Prize winner Roger Penrose, Christian Larsson, CIO of UNICEF, Robin Saxby, Founder and CEO of ARM, among others.
Smart City Worldwide
The first edition of Smart City took place in Barcelona in 2011.
Since 2013, the event expanded beyond its original location, reaching other cities worldwide.
Local editions were implemented tailored to the specific needs and interests of the hosting regions.
This year, the conference took place in New York, Doha, Shanghai, Curitiba, Merida (Mexico), Bogota, and Santiago del Estero (Argentina).
And it doesn’t end here.
Smart City Expo World Congress already has its next congress scheduled.
From November 5 to 7, 2024, it will return to the Fira Barcelona facilities for its thirteenth edition.
