Urban Tech Blog

Today, the urban tech sector is accelerated by innovation, investment, and booming entrepreneurial activity. Technology is bringing a radical shift into how we add capacity to urban spaces, improve our cities’ sustainability and combat climate change. From buildings, infrastructure and urban mobility to public health and wastewater management, new technologies permeate all facets of city life, driving it forward now and well into the future.

Meet the industry’s most prominent entrepreneurs, investors, innovators and policy-makers, standing behind the urban revolution. 

Connect with people who build things – your journey starts here.

The future of urban mobility is right around the corner. Driverless cars, connectivity, electrification, and shared mobility — the past few years introduced us to myriads of significant achievements across all disruptive dimensions of mobility. And as public life slowly moves towards the post-pandemic phase, urban mobility will also need to adapt to the new normal.

What trends mattered, and what will dominate the market in 2022? The Urban Mobility stage is where we will take a closer look at the most promising mobility developments and past year’s milestones that are redefining how we move around the cities.

Every smart city needs energy-efficient buildings. As commitments to net-zero goals are gaining traction, the urban energy sector is getting into the spotlight – with technology being a major catalyst for enhancing the area. Rapid growth in environmental investment, combined with the availability of financial credit only fuels the demand for renewable energy sources.

From the next-generation solar cells to new cutting-edge ways to optimise energy consumption, energy storage is becoming the number one priority to green buildings. And whether we can already see it or not, the new energy-efficient technology in facilities has a transformative power – for both the industry and the planet.

A solid urban wastewater management system stands on three pillars: public health, environment and resource management. Cities spend large amounts of budget on waste management, and yet waste collection rates in low-income areas remain down, with portions of the population receiving no services at all — and a lot of waste ending up in the atmosphere.

How do we raise the bar for the world of tomorrow? Are there any game-changing solutions that have the potential to make our cities more equitable, healthy and resilient? At this stage, we will delve into the latest innovations, best practices and breakthrough technology in the wastewater sector.

For years, the most fundamental real estate values centred around the location. While it still matters, information-based applications have the potential to add new benefits for customers, help businesses differentiate from competitors and find new sources of revenue. The Internet of Things (IoT) helps companies move beyond cost reduction and connect people with technology.

From HVAC management to air quality monitoring, lighting management and smart parking, IoT applications assist facility management efforts and provide valuable insights into building spaces. IoT can solve real, everyday problems and deliver practical results, so when if not now is the best time to harness its potential?

Civil engineers worldwide have been worried about the state of public infrastructure for years. The problems that vary from bridge failures to outdated street infrastructure can be solved in a new way — by integrating next-generation smart city technologies into the foundation of urban areas worldwide.

Cities incorporating IoT promise to deliver exceptional long-term benefits for citizens — and the best value for cities’ infrastructure budgets. Join us as we dig into the data, market trends, and opportunities that help us build better and safer communities.

ConTech may not be the loudest buzzword in real estate, but it is one of the key sectors reshaping the industry. With over 50% of PropTech seeking to solve leasing and sales problems, only 16% focus on construction. There is an extensive gap to be filled and big gains to be made by bringing innovation to the sector.

ConTech has the potential to optimise the way we plan, design, manufacture and build. Focusing on innovations in project management, land use, construction, safety, workforce optimisation and building analysis, we will delve into the technologies defining the future of construction.

2022 will be the year of opportunities for real estate professionals. The pandemic has already forced real estate developers and property brokers to adapt new digital solutions — including online transactions, virtual property exhibition, and gamification — and this trend will only evolve in the coming years. 

What technology areas will produce the most significant impact on the property and real estate sector? How do we capitalise on them? From investment and business opportunities to the regulatory norms, this panel will gather investment funds, tech unicorns and think-thanks to map out the emerging trends and get prepared for the next chapter in the real estate sector.