Smart Cities Week is coming to Australia

How can data analytics enhance social wellbeing? How can Australia capitalise on the future of 5G? Where does the potential for PropTech lie?

These are just three of the topics on offer at Australia’s first Smart Cities Week, to be held in Sydney from 29–31 October 2018.

Smart Cities Week is a global convening of policymakers, practitioners, technologists, researchers and affiliated organisations facilitated by the Smart Cities Council across its key regions. The expanding conference now spans multiple locations, including Washington DC and Silicon Valley, with European and African destinations ahead in 2019.

“In the metropolitan era, Australians live in one of the world’s most urbanised nations,” said Adam Beck, Executive Director for Smart Cities Council Australia New Zealand. “This places Australia at the forefront of the rapidly growing smart cities movement.

“As infrastructure, services and resources are stretched to cope with growing populations, climate change and economic disruption, our challenge is to harness the power of technology, data and intelligent design to create better, smarter cities. Smart Cities Week will help us to do just that.”

Beck said Smart Cities Week Australia is not just a dialogue, noting, “Panel discussions are no longer effective. Instead, we are incubating the action needed to accelerate smart cities — whether it’s through intimate boardroom policy debates or experiential labs.

“This is a unique opportunity to engage everyone from policymakers and local government leaders at the coalface to industry innovators and start-up entrepreneurs.”

To coincide with the conference, the Smart Cities Council will announce winners in 10 categories of the inaugural Australian Smart Cities Awards. Nominations for the awards close on 2 July, with shortlisted finalists to be announced in August.

Both international and local companies are throwing their support behind the conference, with sponsors including KPMG, Place Design Group, Arcadis, BlueChilli, PCSG, Telstra and Yotta.

“Smart Cities Week is an anti-conference that is shaking up the norm, identifying opportunities and creating connections between those who are inspired by the future of the city,” said Chris Isles, Executive Director of Planning for Place Design Group.

To view the event program and take advantage of early-bird registration rates, visit https://www.smartcitiesweek.com/2018-australia/.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/zapp2photo