#UF23 - Urban Future Conference

“There is one phrase that has always triggered me” said Gerald Babel-Sutter, founder of the Urban Future Conference, at the opening session of one of the world’s largest gatherings of sustainable citymakers – “'It cannot be done'. This is, especially, in terms of changes required in urban development, a phrase which is not acceptable. We need to keep asking, why it cannot be done and find innovative ways to make changes possible.”

 

2,000 #CityChangers from 72 countries meet in Stuttgart, Germany

From June 21-23, 2023, more than 2,000 participants from 72 countries around the globe met in Stuttgart for #UF23.  Mayors, local government representatives, urban planners along with experts in the fields of mobility, architecture, environmental sciences and communications exchanged ideas and experiences. The conference programme was filled with inspiring insights and practical tools for sustainable citymaking, with 250 speakers from 4 continents, 75 sessions and 35 field trips. Conference themes focused on a diverse range of topics  from “Cities Cutting Emissions” to “Decarbonising the Built Environment”, “Citizen Engagement and Collaboration” to “Skills for CityChangers”.

 

Learning from mistakes

 © Charlotte Polak

The speakers not only shared their success stories, but also their failures. One of the highlights of the conference was the “Cities Fuck Up Night”, which focussed on to what can be learned from making mistakes. Miguel Gaspara, former Deputy Mayor of Lisbon, talked about the problems his city encountered with the expansion of bicycle lanes. Dagur Bergþóruson Eggertsson, Mayor of Reykjavik shared a personal story about his path into politics, and his failure in an election. The third “Fuck Up” came from Kaisa-Reeta Koskinen, Head of Climate at the City of Helsinki, who very openly and honestly described her failure in creating a Climate Action Plan for the city. However, Koskinen also explained that her failures were “an opportunity to learn quickly”. “We should be ready to admit our mistakes and be ready to stop and restart when it is needed”, concluded Vladimir Svet, Deputy Mayor of Tallinn.

 

Learning from each other

 © Urban Future

The importance of peer learning, sharing experiences and of communication across different sectors was a message that almost all speakers emphasized in their conclusions. This is one of the reasons why the use platform has chosen to partner with the Urban Future Conference. With nearly 500 case studies on sustainable urban development from 5 continents and a strong international network of Urban Awards, city networks and citymakers, use provides an excellent platform for knowledge sharing and the promotion of sustainable urban development all year round.

 

#UF24 will take place in Rotterdam in 2024.

 

 © Urban Future