Urbanistica Podcast is proud to announce its collaboration with the Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC) — the world’s biggest and most influential event for cities and urban innovation.
The event is a premier venue where industry executives, government leaders, researchers, urban pioneers, and entrepreneurs gather every year to explore the complex issues shaping the cities of tomorrow. In 2025, the Expo will host over 25,000 professional visitors from more than 850 cities around the world.
This collaboration between Urbanistica Podcast and Smart City Expo World Congress focuses on recording in-depth podcast conversations with global experts, visionaries, and speakers during the event — giving listeners direct insight into how the future of urban life is being designed and debated in Barcelona.
To open this collaboration, Mustafa Sherif, host of the Urbanistica Podcast, sat down with Ugo Valenti, Event Director of Smart City Expo World Congress. Their conversation explored how the world’s leading event for urban innovation began, how it has evolved, and what lies ahead for the movement toward smarter, more human cities.
When Ugo Valenti talks about cities, his eyes light up — not as an urban planner or architect, but as the event director of one of the world’s most influential gatherings for urban transformation. Since its inception in 2011, the Smart City Expo World Congress has become a global hub connecting city leaders, innovators, researchers, and companies that share a common goal: to make cities more sustainable, livable, and equitable.
“Our goal from the very beginning,” Valenti explained, “was to connect city leaders, companies, and experts working to make cities better — and to accelerate urban transformation.”
When the Congress began, the term smart city was still new and largely focused on technology — sensors, infrastructure, and big data. Today, that vision has matured. “We now see the smart city as a human-centered city,” Valenti said. “Technology is a means to an end, not an end in itself. The real goal is to improve people’s lives, strengthen communities, and promote sustainability.”
This shift is reflected in the 2025 edition of the Congress, which focuses on topics such as artificial intelligence for cities, urban resilience, affordable housing, energy transition, and emerging urban economies. Valenti emphasized that while innovation and robotics play a key role, the conversation always begins with people. “The most successful cities are those that have a soul,” he said. “Innovation must go hand in hand with empathy, collaboration, and inclusion.”
Behind the scenes, the scale of the event is extraordinary. More than 25,000 professionals, 1,000 cities, 1,100 exhibitors, and over 600 speakers come together for three intense days of dialogue, deals, and discovery. A core team of about fifty professionals works year-round on the Congress, supported by hundreds more during the event week. “We all share the same mission — helping the world become a better place to live in by creating better cities,” Valenti said. “That’s what keeps us going.”
Barcelona itself has evolved alongside the Expo. Over the years, it has become both the stage and the laboratory for smart urbanism. Valenti described how the Congress has helped position Barcelona as a leading example of a smart city, inspiring pilot projects, research collaborations, and startups that now call the city home. “We’ve seen global companies establish innovation hubs here,” he said. “It’s made Barcelona richer — economically and culturally.”
The model has also expanded far beyond Spain. Today, Smart City Expo events are held around the world — from Shanghai and Kuala Lumpur to New York, Cartagena, Mexico City, and Buenos Aires — each adapted to local realities. “Urban innovation is not one-size-fits-all,” Valenti explained. “The challenges of Shenzhen are different from those of Bogotá or Riyadh. Each city brings its own perspective, and Barcelona becomes the meeting point for all.”
The theme of the 2025 Congress, “The Time for Cities,” captures the urgency and optimism driving this movement. “If we want to solve the world’s biggest challenges,” Valenti said, “we need to solve the problems of our cities. This is the time to take action.”
The Expo’s impact goes far beyond inspiration. It has become a space where partnerships are born, where startups find investors, and where cities learn from one another’s successes — and mistakes. Valenti recalls stories of small companies that came to the Expo on their last bit of funding and left with global contracts that changed their futures. “In just three days,” he said, “you can have more conversations and make more connections than throughout the rest of the year.”
When asked what advice he would give to innovators attending the event, Valenti’s message was simple: “Be bold and have a purpose. Know what problem you’re solving and what value you bring to citizens. Don’t hide behind your booth — go out and talk to people, collaborate, and share your passion.”
For visitors, his advice was equally clear: “Be curious and come with an open mind. Plan your visit, but also leave room for serendipity — the best conversations often happen by chance.”
He even shared a little-known detail about the Congress’s logo, which evolves from a triangle to a circle. “It represents the path of learning and connection every participant experiences,” he said.
After fifteen years of leading Smart City Expo, Valenti still gets emotional on the first morning of the event. “At 8:30 a.m., before the doors open, I look at the crowd waiting to come in — and it gives me goosebumps. Seeing thousands of people ready to share and make a difference, that’s the most rewarding moment.”
One of his most personal memories is from the very first edition of the Congress. “My first daughter was born that same week,” he smiled. “She’s fourteen now — so I’ll never forget that.”
As the world’s cities continue to grow and face complex challenges, the Smart City Expo World Congress remains the global meeting point for people determined to shape better urban futures.
“We’re not just organizing an event,” Valenti concluded. “We’re building a movement. The time for cities is now.”
Listen to the episode on Spotify
Mustafa Sherif 