Urban Future is back in 2022 as key part of Helsingborg City Expo

The focus this time will be on the progress and opportunities available to small and mid-sized cities

The largest European conference on urban transition matters, Urban Future, is back with a new location. This time CityChangers from all walks of life will head up north to the Swedish city of Helsingborg where the conference will take place 1-3 June 2022. What’s more, attendees will get the chance to experience the start of the Helsingborg City Expo H22, which runs until 3 July.

Why Helsingborg?

Helsingborg is a mid-size city, home to 150,000 inhabitants and one of the oldest in Sweden. However, there is a lot more to it than its modest size reveals at a first glance. Although it is located in Sweden it is part of a trans-national metropolis – the Greater Copenhagen Area. That makes it part of several overlapping realities.

A topic and event highlight of the conference will be Helsingborg’s stunning transformation story itself. Within 10 years, the city has completely transformed as a public organization. It now attracts the most talented people, who drive forward the highly ambitious change projects taking place locally. In collaboration with businesses, innovators, academia, and other stakeholders, Helsingborg is becoming the most innovative city in Europe.

“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 realize their city development dreams,” explained Gerald Babel-Slutter, Co-founder of Urban Future.

He added: “For us, the topics are the core. This is where we focus the energy and the collected know-how on issues that 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”.

What are the main topics of UF22?

In Europe, there are more than 1000 cities with fewer than 350,000 residents. Taken together they actually represent the bulk of the European population. Their unique challenges and opportunities are what UF22 wants to be all about, and Helsingborg will be the showcase study of how things can be done to achieve tangible change.

Actors who are dynamically involved in making such change happen in their environment, or as Urban Future calls them, CityChangers, can look forward to fresh ideas and workshops in the fields of:

• New Districts in the Making: Creating truly sustainable neighbourhoods;
• Changing Structures: How you can unleash your city’s innovation power;
• Social Transformation: Impact entrepreneurs reshaping urban sustainability;
• Leadership & Skills: Improve your skills to create faster and more effective change.

Once again, TheMayor.EU is an official partner to this thrilling event and we are looking forward to discovering what creative ideas it will put forward.

Discount tickets are available on pre-sale until 31 March 2022 at the event’s website.