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  • Why Cities Struggle to Implement – and How Urban Future Responds

    2026 Event Programme Revealed: From city centres and democracy to AI and circular construction
    JANUARY 19, 2026 | LJUBLJANA – Across Europe, cities know what needs to change. The harder question is how.
    This challenge sits at the core of the newly released programme for Urban Future 2026 (UF26), Europe’s Better-Cities Event, taking place in Ljubljana from March 24–27. The programme brings

    Urban Future official 2026 Programme out now

  • Urban Future 2026 Unveils First Speakers

    Urban Future 2026 will take place in Ljubljana from March 24–27, 2026, featuring over 2000 city innovators. Focused on sustainable urban transformation, it introduces diverse speakers and engaging formats, including field trips showcasing progressive city projects and strategies.

    The first speakers of UF26 have been announced within the "People Make Cities" Campaign.

  • Ljubljana Prepares To Host The Better-Cities Event

    Ljubljana will host Urban Future 2026, Europe’s largest urban changemakers event, from March 24-27, 2026. The conference aims to promote sustainable city development, attracting over 2,000 participants to engage in workshops and discussions on urban innovation and sustainability practices.

    Mathis Hampel and Rok Žnidaršič on stage at the Urban Future UF26 kick-off event

  • Comeback Cities and Green Revolutions: Urban Future 2025 Spotlights Transformation

    Urban Future 2025 in Łódź gathers 2,000 urban innovators from over 120 cities, driving discussions on city transformation. The event promotes green urbanism, equity, and collaboration, showcasing successful city changes while empowering local communities to create sustainable, people-centered environments.

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𝐈𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐛𝐮𝐥: 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐬! 🌍🦄 Picture this: 🫵🏽 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝟔: A full day dedicated to YOU. Sharpen your skills, learn from experienced city changemakers, and connect with young urbanists from around the world. 🎤 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝟕 & 𝟖: Two days packed with inspiring people, honest conversations, and hands-on sessions at Urban Future 2027. 🚶🏻‍♀️ 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝟗: Take to the streets of Istanbul and explore the city together! What.an.experience. Can you picture yourself joining us? 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟕 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍! 💖 📍 Istanbul | 6–9 April 2027 👉 Find out more and apply: #linkinbio

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Under 30 and making things happen in your city? Come meet your people. ⚡   Applications are open for the 𝐔𝐅𝟐𝟕 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐞 in Istanbul!   On 6 April, you’ll join other young CityChangers from around the world for a day built around doing, sharing and connecting. Sharpen your skills through hands-on, interactive sessions designed to give you practical tools and new perspectives. Sit down with experienced leaders in small groups and ask the questions you really want answered.   And that’s just the start: your place also includes full access to the 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆 Urban Future event! ✨   Spots are limited, and you have 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝟏𝟎 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲. We want to hear what you’re already doing for better cities and what you imagine the city of the future could be.   Ready to be part of it? 💖  Learn more & apply today 👉 #linkinbio

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You’re bringing people together, pushing for change and trying to make your city better. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐨’𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠?  𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐨 “𝐌𝐚𝐮” 𝐏𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐬.🤝  @mauricioporras_ As co-founder of 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐎, he helps support 𝟐𝟎𝟎+ 𝐜𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝟑𝟎+ 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 with regular funding, practical support and connections to others doing the work.   Through HERO’s Circles, leaders meet each month to share what’s working, work through challenges and be honest about the difficult parts. @herocircle.app   𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐨.   That’s what draws us to Mau’s work – and why we’re excited to welcome him to 𝐔𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐧 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟕. 🎤🦄   We’re already wondering: 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐡𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫? Bring your questions to Istanbul. We think you’ll have plenty to talk about.    📅 April 6–9, 2027 📍 Istanbul, Türkiye 💛 Speaker profile #linkinbio

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You bump into a neighbour on a narrow, noisy pavement. A quick hello and you both move on. Now imagine that same encounter beside a shady bench in a quiet square.🌳🛋️ 𝐖𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫?   𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐠𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭, 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫. You’ve got to meet him! 🤝 @charlesincities   The author of 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲 and co-founder of 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 helps turn research on wellbeing into practical changes. @happy.cities   In Ottawa, the city transformed sections of 3 streets with seating, greenery and activities. Using Happy Cities’ research tool, staff and volunteers observed 𝟑.𝟓 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠. People surveyed were also more likely to believe a stranger would return their lost wallet.   𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞? 🎤🦄 Charles is joining us at 𝐔𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐧 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟕, and we’re already wondering: where would you start to help neighbours feel less alone – and how would you know it was working?   Bring a place you care about into the conversation in Istanbul. 💛   📅 April 6–9, 2027 📍 Istanbul, Türkiye

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You’ve spent months on a project to make your neighbourhood better. Then you present it to residents – and realise you’re having two very different conversations.   𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐦. 🤝   She’s led communications for 200+ urban projects, including 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐚’𝐬 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐬 and 𝐋𝐨𝐰 𝐄𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐙𝐨𝐧𝐞. Her work tackles a familiar challenge: 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞’𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬?     With the Barcelona Superblocks, she helped make the trade-offs part of the conversation. A wider pavement means less space for cars. How do you work through different, equally legitimate needs?   For the Low Emission Zone, her team started with the air people were breathing. They spent months working with health professionals and local media to explain its impact on health before getting into the new rules.   💬 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡. 𝐆𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭.   🎤🦄 Maite is joining us at 𝐔𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐧 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟕, and we’re already wondering: 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧?   Bring your own challenge to Istanbul. We suspect you’ll have plenty to talk about. 💛   📅 April 6–9, 2027 📍 Istanbul, Türkiye

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You know those empty buildings you pass and think: 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭? 𝐌𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐙𝐚ï𝐭 has spent the past 13 years doing exactly that. And we’re very excited to introduce Maxime as our 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐔𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐧 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟕! 🎤🦄 As co-founder of 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐚 𝐀𝐒𝐁𝐋 in Brussels, Maxime has helped turn vacant buildings into homes and spaces where community ideas can take root. @communa_asbl More than 500 people, including people experiencing homelessness and refugees, have found housing through this work. Hundreds of citizen-led initiatives have found the space and support to grow. Here’s where the story gets especially interesting... 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭? Through a close partnership with the cooperative 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐬, Maxime is helping communities hold on to the places they have brought back to life. 🔑🏘️ @fairgroundbrussels He’s taking buildings out of the speculative market FOR GOOD, giving neighbourhoods a permanent role in their ownership and governance.  At Urban Future, he’ll take us inside real examples from Brussels, Paris, Riga and Rome. We’ll hear about the models that worked, the obstacles that nearly stopped them and the unexpected allies who helped move things forward. If you care about housing, vacant spaces, citizen power or simply finding new ways to solve old urban problems, this is someone you’ll want to meet in Istanbul.

 We already have a few questions for him & we suspect you will too! 𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐧 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐌𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐞! 💛 📅 April 6–9, 2027 📍 Istanbul, Türkiye

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Plot twist: we moved UF27. 🙈   Not far. Just 7 days closer.   🩵💙🩷 NEW DATE: APRIL 6–9, 2027 🩷💙🩵 (Hit #linkinbio to save it to your calendar)   Right in the heart of Istanbul, near Taksim Square, we’ll be taking over @intercontinentalistanbul. And the space? Pretty perfect for what we have planned.    Get ready for the most interactive Urban Future yet: hands-on, lively, full of chances to jump in and with views that are very hard to beat. 🤸🏾‍♂️👀   🎟️ Tickets drop December 1 🦄 Newsletter unicorns get an extra 27% off Early Bird for 24 hours.   You know what to do! Become part of the newsletter fam 👉 #linkinbio

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𝐃𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐍𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐥. 𝐖𝐞’𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐭. ❤️‍🩹💪 The devastating floods have caused enormous loss, and many communities are facing a long road to recovery. For us at Urban Future, this hits close to home. Caro, one of our teammates, has spent a lot of time volunteering in Nepal and is currently there again. People in her community have been directly affected. We want to help, and we’d love our community to join us. 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐔𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐧 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐭, 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐭𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐟 €𝟏,𝟎𝟎𝟎. €5 becomes €10. €20 becomes €40. Together, our contributions can make a real difference. 🤜🤛 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩? 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞: 🙌 #linkinbio Or donate through any trusted organisation of your choice and send us a DM with your donation confirmation afterwards. If you can give, please do. If not, sharing this appeal helps too. 𝐋𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐮𝐩 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐍𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐥. ❤️

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Admit it, your inbox is painfully boring right now.   📅 Meeting moved to 14:30 🔐 Password reset request ↩️ RE: RE: RE: Quick question   We know. You thought we had your password for a second, didn’t you? 👀   Ok, hear us out. What if your inbox had more of THIS: 🦄 Where and when to meet your fellow unicorns again 💡 People and ideas that could change your city 🎟️ Special discounts, programme news & opportunities you don’t want to miss   Much better.   Fair warning, though! The Urban Future newsletter may cause: ⚠️ An uncontrollable urge to improve your city ⚠️ Excessive sharing of good ideas with colleagues ⚠️ Sudden knowledge of what other cities are doing   Willing to risk it? 💌 Subscribe. #linkinbio

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Apparently, Urban Future doesn’t do staycations. 🤠🌍   From Istanbul to the Alps, from train rides to thermal baths, our unicorns have been getting around lately. 🏞️🦄🏝️ Now we want to see where YOU are taking Urban Future.   Spotted one of our stickers somewhere unexpected? Rocking your CityChanger T-shirt at the top of a mountain? Taking your bottle to the beach?   Wherever you’re recharging this summer, we want to see it.📍👟   📸 Snap it, tag us and take us along for the ride. Bonus points for unexpected locations!

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Cities become better when people start asking better questions.    ✦  𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲, 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐚 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞?    The solutions will always be local. But the questions are remarkably similar. These are the conversations we’ll be having at The Better-Cities Event: Urban Future 2027 in Istanbul.   🆘 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 - 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞 𝟏 ✦ How do we prepare before disaster strikes and respond more effectively afterwards?   🌱 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞-𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 - 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞 𝟐 ✦ How do we help great local ideas spread beyond one street or neighbourhood?   ✨ 𝐔𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐧 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 - 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞 𝟑 ✦ How do we build cities that people trust, believe in and want to be part of?     Now we need your help. We’re looking for the speakers, projects and organisations already showing what’s possible. If someone should be on our stage, tell us. 👉 #linkinbio

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