City Labs Bridging to Local and Global Actions for Inclusive Digital Urban Transformation

City Labs around the globe are creating invaluable spaces for exploration, experimentation, and co-creation by combining needs-based and research-driven approaches resulting in quick prototyping and agile tool development.

In this session, three City Labs strategically located in Latin America, Africa, and Europe are joining forces, combining their cutting-edge research and tool development with impact-driven local implementation in a global context. The focus of this session lies on both shared innovative practices and their diverse and also different ways of working to meet the massive challenges posed by urban growth in the climate crisis. Tackling innovation through an urban technology acceleration approach is characterized by a commitment to inclusivity, agility, and local collaboration.

By showcasing insights of the different work on digital urban technologies, we aim to demonstrate a range of digital tools, spanning from prototypes to practical applications. And seek to share how urban data and digital technology can support and empower communities, fostering sustainable development. At the core of the event, we will have an interactive tool presentation and ideation session where we share hands-on experiences with our digital tools in a playful and participatory manner. In practical terms, our initiatives encompass a diverse range of digital tools. These range from participatory platforms designed for citizen engagement to advanced applications in remote sensing and mapping, as well as tools for data storytelling, scenario planning, location finding, and twin technologies.

During the upcoming panel discussion, speakers from the three city labs, along with distinguished representatives from the regions, will engage in a critical debate on the impact of their work, with a focus on localization and its effects at the regional level. Examining and discussing, for example, how a digital solution developed with the community for a township in Cape Town may not necessarily meet the needs of neighborhoods in a secondary city in Brazil.
The ideation session and interactive tool presentation, as well as the panel discussion, are primarily designed as open formats to incorporate questions and perspectives from the audience, with a particular emphasis the voices from the cities.