The Scalable Cities Cafés are back for 2024, offering a series of expert-led, interactive discussions on key topics shaping the future of cities. These short, focused sessions are designed to bring together experts, city officials, private sector leaders, and other stakeholders to share knowledge and explore innovative solutions for urban development. Each Café will focus on a distinct topic, showcasing how cities can address key urban challenges with an emphasis on sustainability, smart cities, and citizen engagement.
This year’s series covers six crucial topics that explore the most pressing challenges and opportunities in urban transformation:
- Innovation Procurement
Procurement plays a critical role in enabling cities to adopt new technologies and foster public-private partnerships. This session will examine how innovative procurement strategies can help cities overcome traditional barriers, drive innovation, and achieve long-term sustainability goals.
- Replicating Smart Cities Solutions in Small and Medium-Sized Cities
Smaller cities face unique challenges in adopting smart city innovations. This session will explore strategies for scaling successful solutions to fit the needs and resources of smaller urban areas, ensuring that smart city initiatives are accessible to all cities, regardless of size.
- Energy Communities
Energy communities are reshaping how cities manage energy by empowering local citizens to produce and manage renewable energy. This session will explore how fostering local collaboration can create more resilient and sustainable energy systems.
- Urban Digital Twins for Decision-Making, Operations, and Monitoring
Urban digital twins are revolutionising city management by providing real-time digital replicas of cities. This session will highlight the practical applications of digital twins, from optimising operations to enhancing urban monitoring and planning.
- Enabling and Upscaling Positive Clean Energy Districts
Positive energy districts (PEDs) generate more energy than they consume, making them a key solution for sustainable urban living. This Café will explore how cities can implement and scale PEDs, and the role they play in achieving ambitious climate goals.
- Empowering EU Cities: Harnessing AI for Smart Urban Transformation
Artificial intelligence is transforming urban governance and operations. This session will explore the role of AI in enhancing decision-making, improving service delivery, and creating more efficient city systems.
Collaborative Solutions for Smarter Cities
The Scalable Cities Cafés provide a platform for cities to collaborate, exchange best practices, and explore innovative solutions that can be scaled and adapted across Europe. With expert presentations and live Q&A sessions, these discussions are designed to inspire collective action and generate practical ideas for the future of smart, sustainable urban development.
To register for the first Café in the series on Innovation Procurement on 2 October, 2024, click here: https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/ScalableCitiesCafe-InnovationProcurement
For any questions, please contact the Scalable Cities Secretariat via helpdesk.