

27th – 30th
September, 2022
Creating better
cities together
Hosting city
The host of the fifth edition was the city of Pontevedra in Spain. A place that for the last twenty years has been an example of how to organise a city around people. Drawing on their positive example, we will look to the future. Together. With you.


















This edition was amazing!
The themes
Together we will reflect around four key themes that are central to thinking about the future-proof cities around the globe. The city as a case-study will serve as learning grounds, and further, a testbed for innovations:
● What mechanisms should be put in place to ensure that urban innovation truly benefits the local economy and does not crowd it out?
● How to activate waterfronts for both vibrancy and restoration, that dually consider local resources?
● How can we recover polluted and industrial areas with green and blue solutions while creating inclusive, sustainable and environmentally sensitive green spaces?
● How can an effective, transparent and low-threshold collaboration between local government and community help to activate the public space to its fullest potential?
● How can cities create the conditions to align goals with the real estate sector, implementing the right regulations and policies, to develop a city at a human scale that allows for interactions between people, buildings and streets?
● What mechanisms should be put in place to ensure that urban innovation truly benefits the local economy and does not crowd it out?
● How to activate waterfronts for both vibrancy and restoration, that dually consider local resources?
● How can we recover polluted and industrial areas with green and blue solutions while creating inclusive, sustainable and environmentally sensitive green spaces?
● How can an effective, transparent and low-threshold collaboration between local government and community help to activate the public space to its fullest potential?
● How can cities create the conditions to align goals with the real estate sector, implementing the right regulations and policies, to develop a city at a human scale that allows for interactions between people, buildings and streets?
Read the report
Wanna know what happened? What the festival was like, the sessions, the attendees, the city. Read all about it in the Official Report.
The programme
Keynotes, workshops, tours and much more throughout +5 venues! Learn all about 2022’s programme in the Sched programme below.
The city of Pontevedra
Beginning in 1999, the City of Pontevedra adopted a new city model that aimed to shift attention from private motorised vehicles instead to the city’s pedestrians. The city council went about banning all but essential traffic, and promoted journeys by foot, bicycle or public transport. The city suppressed indiscriminate parking in central streets, thereby cutting down immensely on inner-city traffic jams.
Beginning in 1999, the City of Pontevedra adopted a new city model that aimed to shift attention from private motorised vehicles instead to the city’s pedestrians. The city council went about banning all but essential traffic, and promoted journeys by foot, bicycle or public transport. The city suppressed indiscriminate parking in central streets, thereby cutting down immensely on inner-city traffic jams.