That was #UF23! More than 2000 CityChangers joined the Urban Future Conference in Stuttgart

Urban Future fever in Stuttgart

The euphoria was almost tangible. More than 2000 CityChangers from 71 countries met in Stuttgart to discuss how to make cities better. Mayor Dr. Frank Nopper about Stuttgart as hosting city: "Stuttgart is the ideal venue to host this important event for sustainable cities. The German Sustainability Congress has named Stuttgart Germany's most sustainable city in 2022. Last year, Stuttgart set itself a very ambitious goal: climate neutrality by 2035, making us the climate protection vanguard in Germany and Europe." Dr. Frank Nopper speaks of an "Urban Future" fever and emphasizes the importance to act. "We have experienced a great Urban Future Conference in Stuttgart in a great Urban Future atmosphere. It is important that we now implement the many suggestions, ideas, and impulses in concrete terms, also with a view to the 2035 climate neutrality target," he said at the opening of the conference.

Winfried Hermann, Baden-Württemberg's Minister of Transport, is also hoping for long-term positive effects from the conference: "To motivate people to adopt climate-friendly behavior, we have to offer them better alternatives. This requires innovative ideas - in mobility, but also in a variety of other areas. The conference is the perfect place to exchange successful approaches and join forces for even more intensively.”

"What energy!"

Doors opened on Wednesday, June 21. "What energy! We experienced Stuttgart as a city with a very diverse society, but especially with a strong civil society," says Gerald Babel-Sutter, co-founder and CEO of the Urban Future Conference. "That's great because the transformations ahead of us require not only networked thinking but above all networked action. That's exactly what Urban Future provides important impetus for." This year, more than 250 speakers shared their expertise about various aspects of sustainable urban development. On the third day of the event, 35 field trips provided unique behind-the-scenes glimpses. For example, the world's first adaptable high-rise building was visited, which can adjust to sun, wind, and rain.

The foundation stone is laid

Urban Future makes topics visible that otherwise receive fewer media attention. This is important, as sustainable urban development concerns all citizens. It motivates people from all over the world, with different backgrounds and expertise to get together. For organizer Gerald Babel-Sutter and his team, preparation has already started for 2024. The Urban Future conference will take place in another European metropolis, where it will once again focus on critical issues, highlight challenges, outline solutions, and bring together urban changemakers. All of this will make for a special atmosphere in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam, next year's Urban Future host city. "I'm already looking forward to Urban Future next year in Rotterdam. I am experiencing a very good example here in Stuttgart and hope that the Urban Future spirit will also unfold in Rotterdam," says Chantal Zeegers, Deputy Mayor of Rotterdam.

About the Urban Future Conference

Conference? Festival? Event? Urban Future is everything! It is the largest European event for experts, politicians, entrepreneurs, and doers who shape cities in a sustainable way. Every year it takes place in a different city. In 2023, Stuttgart will be the meeting place for motivated CityChangers from all over the world. They will exchange ideas on how they are making the change, what challenges they face along the way, what mistakes are better avoided, and how they are successfully developing the future of our cities.