Urban Future - Host city for 2019 announced - After Vienna in 2018, Europe’s largest event for sustainable cities is coming to OSLO!

URBAN FUTURE Global Conference 2019 will take place in one of Europe’s greenest cities from May 22nd to May 24th

Oslo, November 10th 2017: Today Hanna Marcussen, Oslo’s Vice Mayor for urban development, officially announced at Oslo town hall that the city will host the URBAN FUTURE global conference in 2019. The event will be a hotspot for some thousand participants from all around the world who want to drive change in their cities.

URBAN FUTURE is the meeting place for CityChangers: people who sustainably alter the face of our cities with their ideas and dedication. They learn from others’ personal experiences and use them to accelerate change in their own cities and structures. Starting with 1,000 participants in Graz in 2014, the number of participants has tripled in the meantime. The forthcoming UFGC in Vienna (February 28 th and March 2 nd 2018) will attract the 3,000 best brains in the fields of mobility, city planning, communication and conserving resources. The announcement of Oslo as the next hosting city takes the URBAN FUTURE Global Conference to the next level and will further boost the sustainability movement.

Vice Mayor kicks-off process towards the conference
“I am proud that Europe's largest conference for sustainable cities is coming to Oslo in 2019! It will be very inspiring to have so many international experts that we can learn from in our city. This kick-off meeting is the starting point for a process towards the conference in 2019, where I hope we can showcase many groundbreaking projects”, said Marcussen.

Oslo - European Green Capital 2019
Oslo was named European Green Capital 2019, and the city really is a pioneer in sustainable development. Oslo aims to be carbon neutral by 2030 and has introduced a carbon budget as a part of the city budget. Huge investments are made in cycling and public transport infrastructure, the introduction of car-free zones and the surge in the use of electric vehicles will help the city reach its climate goals as well as reducing air and noise pollution. The waste management system is cycle based and there is an expanding green business community.

UFGC: From an idea to a thriving movement
"With the city of Oslo and FutureBuilt we have found amazing strategic partners. You really feel the courage and the passion for change in Oslo. That’s what the URBAN FUTURE is all about. In the few months that we have been preparing this collaboration so far, I’ve already got a taste of how fast change can happen if you really want it to," said Gerald Babel-Sutter, CEO and mastermind of the UFGC, which started as an idea four years ago and has since developed into Europe`s largest event for sustainable cities.

Participation is very welcome!
FutureBuilt is an innovative Norwegian organization that generates and spreads knowledge about zero carbon architecture and urban development in Norway through a broad range of pilot projects. “We will be celebrating our 10th anniversary in 2019 and we are very excited to create the most comprehensive conference on sustainable city development in Scandinavia so far”, says Stein Stoknes, Program Manager at FutureBuilt. Participation is very welcome. “We will be launching an inclusive process soon in which public sector, business and innovation/environmental experts are cordially invited to participate.”

Further details to be released at the next URBAN FUTURE Global Conference in Vienna.