Programme Reveal: Urban Future 22 The most inspiring event of the year for people who drive sustainability in cities.

Urban Future is back! And not just anywhere. This time we are setting sail for Helsingborg in Sweden, located in the greater Copenhagen region. The programme is really taking shape. Focused on the how and action accelerating urban sustainability, CityChangers will be equipped with the necessary tools to become better agents of change and create more impactful work.

Graz/Helsingborg, December 14, 2021 – After two COVID related cancellations we are happy to be back with Urban Future 22 with the most pressing topics, and exciting exhibitions, speakers, and guests. The programme is taking shape and speakers are lining up. We have seen a tremendous interest for meeting in person again among delegates and attendees.

After 3 years of pulling together our best programme yet, we are proud to announce our core tracks and a sneak peek of the individual sessions, together with a few of the CityChangers you will get a chance to meet.

The topics will focus on those issues highly crucial for urban transformation. “We usually choose our topics based on the main struggles CityChangers go through when driving sustainability in cities” , says Gerald Babel-Sutter, Co-founder of Urban Future.
A topic and event highlight will be Helsingborg’s stunning transformation story. Within 10 years, the city has completely transformed as a public organisation. It now attracts the most talented people, who drive forward the City’s highly ambitious change projects. In collaboration with businesses, innovators, academia, and other stakeholders, Helsingborg is becoming the most innovative city in Europe.“We immediately liked the fact that Helsingborg was so open with what it had tried and what worked and what didn’t,” Gerald continues.

Helsingborg has understood that, to reach their goals, they need to experiment and make mistakes along the way. In Sweden’s first municipal innovation hub Hbg Works, any idea to improve the city can be tested. A no-strings-attached vision fund invites residents to join in and realise their city development dreams.“For us, the topics are the core. This is where we focus the energy and the collected know-how on issues which have a real impact. Being in Helsingborg, we hope that everyone will feel the spirit of one of the most innovative and fastest transforming cities in Europe,” says Gerald.

The core tracks are announced together with a call for Young Leaders, our programme for urban change-makers aged 30 or younger. The aim of the programme is to get ambitious young CityChangers involved in the discussion about how our cities of the future should and will look like. Applications are open until January 16, 2022.

Urban Future 2022
June 1-3, 2022: Urban Future is proud to kick off Helsingborg’s H22 City Expo. We invite the world to Sweden for an amazing 3-day program. Be inspired by the best, gain critical skills and know-how, and get to understand important trends. The conference tracks combine the expertise of more than 450 leading urban shapers, who have helped us tailor the content to our CityChangers’s needs.

Helsingborg City Expo
May 30-July 3, 2022: H22 City Expo – 35 days where 70+ official partners, innovators, world-leading companies, city departments, urban disruptors, associations, and residents will explore and develop how we will live in tomorrow’s city. One, among several collaborations the city of Helsingborg is doing, is a testbed for urban solutions with IKEA. This collaboration aims to explore solutions to the challenges that come with urbanisation and make life easier for people living in cities.