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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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Let’s talk AI...   ⚡Should climate advocates be using AI, given its energy & water demands?  👮🏻 Are current AI regulations enough? ⚖️ Does refusing to use AI leave the field open to those who care less about ethics?   These were some of the tough questions at the heart of 𝘈𝘐 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 at Urban Future with Edgar Linscheid, Anja Floetenmeyer-Woltmann, Lior Steinberg and Michael Shank, Ph.D.   This UF26 session explored how AI tools can amplify communications, advocacy, urban storytelling and civic engagement - all while wrestling with the ethical, environmental & political consequences of AI adoption.   🎥 Edgar focused on AI as a storytelling amplifier - using generative video and visuals to make urban futures tangible, emotional and impossible to ignore. ➤ His main message: when used carefully, AI can help us communicate ideas that would otherwise never get funded or understood.    🚀 Anja approached AI as a force multiplier for tiny teams doing mission-driven work. She showed how she’s using tools like Claude, Perplexity, transcription workflows and automation to run large-scale climate communication and heat transition campaigns, almost like she has an entire agency behind her. ➤ Her perspective was pragmatic: if progressive city changers don’t learn these tools, others absolutely will.   🔍 Then Lior brought in the critical, practical lens. His demos showed how AI-generated “future streets” looked radically different depending on whether prompts were written in Dutch or English, exposing how biased training data shapes what AI imagines. Look out for the tool his team developed and shared at UF, the Street Cloud: 👀 ➤ Be aware that AI doesn’t invent neutrally. Knowing how it works helps us use it more effectively.   Opinions are complex and evolving...and for anyone working on the future of cities, these are exactly the questions we need to be asking.    What are your thoughts? 💭   Attendee feedback is that this was one of the most interesting sessions in Ljubljana, and we’re all curious to see where the conversation

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How do we build cities of many centres — not just one dominant core?   That was the central question of one of the most thought-provoking sessions at UF26, where cities across Europe shared how they are responding to growth, shrinkage, mobility pressures, housing challenges, and changing ideas of urban life.   🇮🇹🇸🇮 Gorizia & Nova Gorica showed how former border cities are using shared public spaces, mobility, and culture to build a common urban identity.   🇪🇸 Madrid explored how new hubs for innovation, housing, mobility, and green infrastructure can help redistribute opportunity beyond the historic centre.   🇱🇹 Vilnius reflected on urban sprawl and fragmented development, using the “15-minute city” as a tool to identify gaps in services and public life.   🇱🇻 Riga shared how neighborhood-centred planning, participation, and targeted investment can help cities navigate population decline and build long-term trust.   Across all discussions, a few themes stood out strongly: → public space as social infrastructure → mobility as a question of equity → participation as a long-term trust-building process → and polycentricity as both a planning and governance challenge   One of the strongest takeaways from the session: Resilient cities are not built around one centre of gravity, but through connected neighborhoods where opportunity, culture, services, and public life are more evenly distributed.   Huge thanks to Jeni Cross, Inmaculada Sánchez - Cervera Valdés, Signe Pērkone, Augustas Makrickas, Samo Turel and Rodolfo Ziberna for such open and practical conversations in session 1.2. 👏

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“We can’t be perfect in any of our roles. What’s more; we don’t have to be. Men never are.” - Ricarda Götz-Preisner Urban Future speaker Ricarda Götz-Preisner from the City of Vienna shared a powerful perspective on inclusive cities, feminist leadership & the invisible pressures women carry every day. 👉 #linkinbio   In her interview with Nika Vistoropski at Delo, Ricarda highlighted several initiatives shaping Vienna’s approach to equality: ✧ Funding women’s shelters, crisis hotlines, and 30+ NGOs supporting girls and women ✧ Free workshops on consent, workplace rights, violence prevention, and media literacy ✧ “Daughters’ Day,” helping girls explore careers where women are underrepresented ✧ Youth participation programs like Vienna’s Children and Youth Parliament   Ricarda’s fierce & deeply human perspective continues to stay with us. 💬 “Women are not an afterthought or an exception, but represent more than half of the population.” 💬 “I believe in dialogue, even when it is uncomfortable. If we don’t open these conversations, others will shape them for us.”   We’re grateful to share the UF stage with people who challenge systems, inspire dialogue & push for cities that truly work for everyone. 🙌 Thank you, Ricarda, for your honesty, courage & optimism!

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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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