Although the concept of smart cities often emphasizes technology, Dr. Sami Kazi points out that “in the future, cities will not merely be places to live, but ecosystems that learn, adapt, and respond to the needs of their residents. The key to creating truly smart cities lies in integrating technology with human behavior, transforming urban spaces into interconnected systems that are both efficient and sustainable.”
At the Future Tense conference powered by Lürssen, Dr. Kazi will use scientific insights and real-life examples to demonstrate how cities can optimize their services by integrating smart systems, improve sustainability through green building, manage energy, waste, and water smartly, develop resilient solutions for future urban challenges, and foster effective public-private partnerships to improve citizens’ quality of life.
Urbanization is one of the key megatrends that will shape the world in the coming decades. Futurists warn that the number of people living in urban areas will continue to grow, especially in Africa and Asia, where the majority of future megacities will emerge by 2100. This trend is also noticeable in Croatia and brings a range of challenges related to transportation, housing, safety, and maintenance of public infrastructure.
Cities around the world are turning to technology to tackle these challenges. Digitalization of public administration, smart lighting, integrated transport systems, and advanced security solutions are already present in many urban areas. In Croatia, for example, Bjelovar was the first city to digitalize its administration, Krk became the first smart island, and Rijeka has received multiple Smart City awards thanks to its continuous investments in improving and digitalizing its infrastructure.
How cities can better respond to key issues and improve residents’ quality of life will be explained by Professor Dr. Sami Kazi from VTT, the Technical Research Centre of Finland, on May 8 at the Future Tense business conference powered by Lürssen.
Alongside Dr. Kazi, other speakers at the Future Tense conference powered by Lürssen include Peter Hinssen on the future of technology, Tamira Snell on sustainability, Dr. Howard Yu on building strategic resilience in an unpredictable business environment, and Carl Honoré on the culture of slowing down – a way to improve quality of life and productivity in a rapidly changing world.
In addition to the Lürssen Design Centre Kvarner, this year’s conference partners include Bosqar Invest, Iverpan, Infinum, JGL, Končar, Nestlé Croatia, Philip Morris International, Raiffeisen Bank, and Planetopija.
More information can be found on the Future Tense conference website
