The event brought together city representatives, innovators, researchers, and citizens to explore how digital innovation and nature-based solutions can help create more sustainable, climate-resilient, and people-centered cities. UTA’s Smart City Project Manager, Maryna Gorobei, represented UTA at the event.
The workshop welcomed a diverse group of participants and perspectives. Speakers included Giovanni Rimassa, Vice President of Digital for Planet; Francesco Mureddu, Vice President for Development and Senior Researcher at The Lisbon Council; Monique Calisti, President and Founder of Digital for Planet; Sara Nyberg, Senior Specialist for Sustainable Cities & Infrastructure at South Pole; Sara Altamore, Project Manager at APRE; and Alexander Wiese, Transformative Finance Specialist at the Green Digital Finance Alliance. Flavia Maragno and Erica Cascone of Digital for Planet also contributed valuable insights on sustainable urban transformation and collaborative innovation.
A workshop built on co-creation
Instead of relying on traditional presentations, participants formed teams to develop ideas for sustainable mobility, green public spaces, energy, urban resilience, and digital tools for smarter city management. The interactive format encouraged participants to exchange perspectives, test ideas collaboratively, and explore how they could translate innovative approaches into concrete actions within their own cities and communities. The five teams then presented their solutions and shared ideas for creating more sustainable and inclusive cities.
These exchanges directly support URBAN-FLOW’s core mission: improving liveable cities through smart public space management and sustainable mobility while advancing climate neutrality in urban areas.
Technology alone cannot drive transformation
Discussions highlighted an important insight: cities need more than advanced technologies to achieve successful urban transformation. They must connect digital tools with local realities, citizen needs, and cross-sector collaboration. Even highly innovative solutions often struggle to scale when cities lack effective governance structures, stakeholder coordination, or public engagement mechanisms.
Participants also emphasized the value of experimentation and co-creation environments, where cities, researchers, companies, and communities test ideas together before scaling them further. In this context, initiatives such as URBAN-FLOW, BLOSSOM, and URBREATH help cities move beyond isolated pilot activities toward more integrated and operational approaches to climate-neutral urban development.
UTA thanks the organizers and speakers for sharing insights and approaches that inspired new ideas for sustainable urban transformation.
Disclaimer: UTA is one of the consortium partners implementing the Horizon Europe project URBAN-FLOW, which fosters collaboration among cities, innovation stakeholders, and solution providers across Europe.