Track: Infrastructure & Building

Join us in celebrating the most innovative and impactful initiatives shaping the future of urban living. The World Smart City Awards recognize pioneering projects, visionary leaders, and transformative strategies that are driving progress in cities around the globe. This ceremony is a tribute to excellence, creativity, and collaboration in building smarter, more sustainable urban environments.

How can the building sector drive climate action and align with city sustainability goals? By embracing energy efficiency and zero-emission designs, the built environment becomes a powerful tool for mitigating climate change. This session explores how green buildings are not just structures but vital contributors to healthier, more sustainable urban futures.

Discover a smart buildings platform that utilizes integrated AI solutions and advanced analytics to drive real decarbonization. We will explore the innovation behind smart asset management, how it improves interoperability between modules, and maximizes energy efficiency. Ultimately, this framework provides a clear path to zero-emission building operation and measurable climate impact.

How is the building sector aligning its practices with the sustainability initiatives of cities? In what ways can the built environment play a role in mitigating climate change?

As urban populations grow, the need for affordable, scalable, and sustainable housing is more urgent than ever. From modular construction to smart housing and regulatory innovation, new approaches are reshaping how cities house their residents. How can cross-sector collaboration turn these innovations into lasting, inclusive solutions?

Washington Fajardo will discuss how Latin American cities — in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) — are pioneering solutions to the housing crisis through innovation, technology, and cross-sector partnerships. The session highlights scalable, inclusive, and sustainable housing models, showing how regulatory innovation and public-private collaboration drive resilience, social inclusion, and equitable, human-centered urban transformation.

Urban growth presents complex challenges in ensuring that all residents can live in safe, inclusive, and thriving communities. In this session, Orna Rosenfeld will share insights from her international work on housing and urban development, exploring the social, economic, and policy dimensions that shape city life. With a broad perspective on urban growth, she will highlight the opportunities and challenges in creating equitable, resilient, and vibrant cities for everyone.

How can policymakers, urban planners, and tech innovators collaborate to create scalable, affordable, and sustainable housing solutions for growing cities? What technologies and strategies show the most promise in tackling the housing crisis?

Securing buy-in into citywide transformation requires compelling stories that inspire citizens, planners and funders with a vision of potential future possibilities. Advances in technology such as digital twins, simulation and AI can produce interactive visualisations that can unlock better conversations that ultimately lead to better decisions. Through real city examples, KPMG and Augment City will show the art of the possible to unlock the insights in your data and help decision makers reach clarity and consensus.

How are digital tools revolutionizing construction in the cities of tomorrow? By integrating AI, BIM, and digital twins, the industry is transforming building design and execution. Exploring challenges and best practices reveals how digital innovation is reshaping construction into a smarter, more precise, and sustainable process.

Urban design profoundly affects wellbeing and social connection. However, standardized metrics often overlook local cultural and contextual nuances, such as climate or inequality, which shape urban experiences. The Norman Foster Institute (NFI) develops participatory methodologies to create wellbeing indicators tailored to each city, guiding practical urban design strategies that respond to communities’ real needs and priorities.

How have digital tools improved construction accuracy and reduced costs? What challenges and best practices shape successful digital transformation in the industry?

Cities face a growing gap in housing needs, aging infrastructure, and persistent social inequalities. As affordability declines, innovative approaches to building and urban development are essential. This session will focus on centering equity in urban development by reimagining construction methods, housing policies, and design strategies to create sustainable, resilient, equitable, and accessible homes for all.

This dynamic panel explores how governance and financial levers can accelerate the shift to a circular built environment. Drawing on insights from across the construction value chain, it will highlight strategies like waste prevention and secondary material markets, and examine how EU policies such as Construction Products Regulation and Green Public Procurement along with skills and capacity-building, can drive systemic change.

A relaxed moment to have a drink and mingle with other attendees at the venue’s main entrance after the World Smart City Awards gala.

As cities seek greater resilience, livability, vibrancy and unique identity, outdated planning rules often hold them back. The session reveals a new approach: form-based codes, or visual design standards that focus on the look, feel, and quality of streets and neighborhoods, rather than just land use. Discover how city leaders, planners, developers, and citizens collaborate to create vibrant places and more predictable, attractive investments.