The Back to the Future session, organised by the Scalable Cities Secretariat, took place at the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, on 5 November. The session explored the evolution of the smart cities community, tracing the journey from projects to the ambitious goal of implementing 100 climate-neutral cities. The panel featured experts from the RESPONSE, ASCEND and NEUTRALPATH projects.
Philippe Fournand from Blue-Sight Conseil and the Scalable Cities Secretariat kicked off the session by providing an overview of the Scalable Cities community's objectives and achievements. He began by reflecting on the origins of the smart cities initiative in 2014, when a European Union call for projects launched with just seven initial projects. Since then, the ecosystem has expanded to include 20 projects and 124 cities. Philippe highlighted the importance of engaging a broad range of stakeholders—particularly through the quadruple helix approach, which involves collaboration between the public and private sectors, academia, and communities. This inclusive approach has fostered a dynamic network of cities across Europe that actively exchange best practices, tackle shared challenges, and develop innovative solutions, all of which are accelerating progress toward the goal of climate neutrality by 2030.
Hadrien Rouchette from Dijon Métropole then shared insights from the RESPONSE project, highlighting the ongoing efforts to build a robust local ecosystem and addressing the challenges the metropole faces in executing its climate plan. Dijon is working on two Positive Energy Districts in the Fontaine d’Ouche and the CHU Université. The Dijon Métropole is also working to ensure that climate neutral projects are at the centre of the city’s operational framework and one important element to Dijon’s success has been the climate and net-zero transition unit.
Anh Minh Vu from the City of Dresden and the NEUTRALPATH project presented Dresden’s Integrated Energy and Climate Protection Concept, which was developed as part of the NEUTRALPATH initiative. The Concept focuses on five key priorities, including the transition to renewable energy for both heat and power. During his presentation, Anh Minh Vu emphasised the importance of generating knowledge and data, as well as leveraging existing resources and information to create practical business models for smart city projects.
Rounding out this engaging panel was Adeeb Sidani from Porto Digital and the ASCEND project, who expounded on Porto's efforts to understand local energy consumption patterns and develop actionable solutions to improve residents' lives. Among the initiatives implemented were the installation of electric vehicle (EV) chargers and infrastructure upgrades to roads. Porto has proactively set clear climate targets and has applied to relevant projects to accelerate progress toward meeting its climate goals.
Thank you to all the great speakers who participated in this panel and showcased the evolution of smart cities from projects to developing networks and communities like Scalable Cities that are supporting scaling efforts.