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  • Urban Future official 2026 Programme out now

    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 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.

  • From Cars to Community - Cugir's Urban Transformation Journey

    At the Urban Future Conference in Poland, Cugir's Mayor Adrian Teban highlighted the town's transformative "Just Streets" project, shifting from car-centric to people-first urban planning, showcasing a model for sustainable mobility and urban development applicable to Romanian cities and beyond.

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Why are cities 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 being designed as if women don’t exist? At our 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 session at Urban Future, we circled around a difficult truth: in 2026, gender equality is treated as a “nice-to-have” instead of essential city-making.   The conversation kept coming back to one thing: 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥. They reflect the people, priorities & power structures that shape them.   So many lines stayed with us...💬 Ricarda Götz-Preisner, Officer at the City of Vienna Department for Women: “𝘞𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘫𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺.” “𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯. 𝘋𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘶𝘮.”   Heiða Björg Hilmisdóttir, Mayor of Reykjavík: “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦.” “𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘶𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭.”   Nourhan Bassam, CEO of The Gendered City: “𝘐𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘫𝘰𝘬𝘦, 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩, 𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 – 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘵. 𝘈𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵.” “𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦.”   Miriam Staley, CEO & Founder of Leading Minds Worldwide: “𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘢𝘶𝘭𝘵. 𝘖𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵?” “𝘐’𝘮 𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨.”   Perhaps the most practical takeaway: 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐨. Who was this designed for? Who was listened to? Who’s missing?   Thank you to our brilliant speakers & everyone in the room who brought honesty, respect & a little rebellious courage to the conversation. 💛

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Hej, hej from the Swedish Consulate in Graz! 💙💛 Today we welcomed Ambassador Annika Ben David to the Urban Future office in Graz, where the Swedish Consulate officially found its home in 2024. @annikabendavid A special moment for us, and another beautiful reminder of how international connections grow through real encounters. Since our Urban Future conference in Helsingborg, our ties with Sweden have become even stronger. Now, with our CEO Gerald Babel-Sutter serving as Honorary Consul of Sweden in Graz, this connection has found a place in our office - and our hearts. 🩷 @swedeninat The consulate is open on Tuesdays & Thursdays from 10:00 to 12:00 for those who need its services. We’re grateful for this visit and excited to keep building bridges between Graz, Sweden, and urban changemakers across Europe. 🇦🇹🌍🇸🇪

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Can you plan for the unplanned?   At session 2.2. 𝘏𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘳𝘣𝘢𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯, speakers from Toronto, Barcelona, Tel Aviv, Tallinn & Madrid challenged one of the core assumptions of city-making: that everything can (or should) be controlled. 🕹️   Instead, they showed how 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐲 & 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥-𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐭𝐲.     Quotes from the session: 💬 “Messiness is not a problem to be solved. It’s one of the essential elements of the city.” – Jason Thorne, City of Toronto @jasonthorne_rpp @cityofto   “Stop waiting for the perfect plan – start building it one decision at a time.” – Kristi Grišakov, City of Green Tallinn @kristigrisakov @tallinnalinn   “Planning for the unplanned is uncertain – but it starts with understanding the place.” – Honorata Grzesikowska, Urbanitarian @honorata.io @urbanitarian   “We don’t need plans that predict change – we need plans that can adapt to it.” – José María Sánchez Laforet, Madrid City Council Digital Office @madrid   “A city needs its edges – places that work differently and allow different ways of living.” – Keshet Rosenblum, HQ Architect @hqarchitects     If we had to sum up an entire 90 minutes of nuanced, complex, thoughtful knowledge-sharing, we would say: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧 – 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐭. 💫     A big thank you goes to this group for all the takeaways in Ljubljana!

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5 reasons we fell hard for Istanbul 🩷 𝟏. 𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 🌆 Energetic, unfolding, massive, diverse! Istanbul doesn’t slow down, and you don’t want it to. 𝟐. 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 🌊 The Bosporus cuts through the city like a pulse. Continents, cultures & stories colliding. 𝟑. 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 🕌 Ancient mosques, crumbling facades, bold new builds - Istanbul layers history without asking for permission. 𝟒. 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐲 🍽️ Eat on the street, sit for hours, drink tea, repeat. This city doesn’t do quick bites…it does rituals. 𝟓. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐮𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 🐈 Part of Istanbul’s everyday charm, and honestly, it works. 🐾 Istanbul, you’re pulling us in! So complex, warm & intense. We’re already a bit addicted. ✨

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When rules are tested, urban spaces can be reimagined. ✊   This 𝐓𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐞 feature by 𝐆𝐄𝐎𝐑𝐆 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 is a powerful reminder of what leads to true urban transformation: Cities change when people challenge the “plan.”   Or more specifically, by 𝐔𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬! @toposmagazine @georg_media   From small interventions to bold acts of resistance, a simple truth is revealed: cities aren’t finished products, they’re living systems shaped by 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞, 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲 & 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞.   Thank you for weighing in, Gerald Babel-Sutter. @gerald9762 Glad to see Adetayo Manuwa, Nicholas Marchesi, Honorata Grzesikowska, Ewelina Jaskulska & CityChangers.Org named among the rebels. 🖤 @tutipsy @honorata.io @nm_fart @nicholas_marchesi @ewelina.jaskulska @citychangersorg   Read the story: #linkinbio   Making cities better, one step at a time! 👣 Are you a rebellious rule-breaker too? 😎

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🌬️ 𝑊𝑜𝑤, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝑎 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑠ℎ 𝑎𝑖𝑟! Istanbul is huge and diverse, full of energy and bursting with opportunities. And did we mention the cute cats everywhere? 🐈🐈‍⬛ Part of the Urban Future team spent 3 days in Istanbul meeting partners, exploring the city and checking out the venue. This city shows us just how much is moving, and it has us even more excited about what’s next. Now the question is: what will we create together in April? 👀🩷✨

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From bold discussions to real-world examples 🤓🗺️   Our UF26 field trips took the conversation out of the event halls ➜ straight into the streets of Ljubljana, where change is already happening.    Whether exploring by bike, following the trail of Plečnik, or learning about local, visionary architects, participants dove into the city’s vibe and met the people shaping it. 🚲🥾   These are just a few of our favorite moments. 👀 💫  Real projects, honest conversations & plenty of inspiration along the way.   Because the best way to understand cities…is to experience them!   👉 Get all the photos at #linkinbio

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Turning urban mobility ambitions into real-world change is where things often get...complicated. 😵‍💫 Do you feel that too, sometimes?   That’s exactly why we’re excited to share something from our long-time Urban Future community friends at Humankind! @humankindcity (Shout out to Jorn, Nuria, Lior & Mario! 🤜🤛)   Their new course, 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘜𝘳𝘣𝘢𝘯 𝘔𝘰𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦, is built for practitioners who want to move from strategy to execution – and create mobility solutions grounded in real citizens’ needs.   Built on years of hands-on experience, the course dives into the intersection of spatial design and social dynamics, helping urban planners, city makers & municipal professionals turn bold mobility strategies into people-first realities.   ⚡️ Fast-paced, hands-on, and limited to 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝟐𝟎 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 📅 Registrations open until 𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟎   If you’ve ever felt stuck between vision & implementation, this might be exactly what you need.   🤝 Learn more and secure your spot: #linkinbio

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Big shoutout to the team at Bilbao Metropoli 30 for launching the 𝟐𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐲 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 🌍 @bilbaometropoli30   These awards spotlight the bold, collaborative & future-focused projects shaping better urban regions worldwide – exactly the kind of work we love to see. 💛   This year’s categories include:  • Horizon Shaper Award • Partners in Progress Award • SDG Champions Award • Prosperity Catalyst Award • Metropolitan Connection Award • The Bay Urban Pioneers Award   If you (or someone in your network) are driving real change in cities, this is your moment.   🗓 Apply by 𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟗, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 🏆 Winners announced on 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝟏𝟏, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟕 at the iconic Guggenheim Museum Bilbao   Let’s help get the right projects on that stage. Apply: #linkinbio Good luck, urban innovators! 🤞

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