By 2050 more than 68% of the world population will live in cities. But how prepared are the cities to accommodate these new inhabitants and ensure a high standard of living?
If we look at the current situation, congested traffic, low air quality, low urban mobility are just some of the challenges that decision makers face.
And most of us are familiar with them because we like to protest about them. We share posts on Facebook, we sign petitions.
But there is one thing that many of us seem to lack: action.
Although we know what’s wrong with the cities we live in, we seldom do anything about it.
This is the main challenge that Urban Talks tries to solve: taking us from being aware of the problems that our cities face, to taking action.
Urban Talks is a conference taking place in Timișoara, Romania, on September 28th, aiming to bring together members of public administration, the business sector and, most importantly, citizens, in order to find solutions for the challenges that cities face.
Urban Talks is the only event in Romania, and probably Europe, that discusses the future of cities beyond the “smart city” concept.
As Grațian Mihăilescu, the founder of the project says, “when we think about the future of cities we always think of “smart city”. But the cities of the future must be about much more than that. They must be creative, sustainable and, most importantly, cities that we would like to live in. The question is: how do we create them?”.
Answers to this question will be proposed by 15 speakers from 6 countries who will get together with the participants and debate, present case studies and best practices and network to tk.
The conference program includes:
- Timisoara, Oradea & Arad Mayors roundtable
- Speakers from World Bank & European Commission
- International Experts from the Netherlands, Sweden & Finland
- 3 tracks: SMART Cities, Sustainable Cities, Creative Cities
- 2 panels: Leaders of Public Administration & Businesses
Another unique aspect of the event will be the launch of „Bega canal competition”, a challenge that aims to find solutions for the unused banks of the Bega river in order to give them back to the community.
That’s why 50% of every ticket sold will go towards supporting this initiative.
Those who want to learn more about the event and participate can learn more by visiting the oficial website.
