"Future of Cities Week" Reviews the readiness of digital cities, smart communities and urban innovation

Dubai, 11 November / WAM / The activities of “Future Cities Week”, organized by the Museum of the Future in cooperation with Dubai Municipality, concluded today in Dubai, with the participation of an elite group of leaders, experts and decision-makers from around the world, as part of a vision aimed at enhancing the readiness of cities for the future through technology, proactive design and urban innovation.

The event activities on November 10 and 11 at the Museum of the Future witnessed a wide attendance of experts, specialists, academics, and representatives of local and international government and private agencies, in addition to a large number of professors and students from Emirati universities.

His Excellency Engineer Marwan Ahmed bin Ghalita, Director General of Dubai Municipality, said: The success of Future Cities Week reflects Dubai’s constant commitment to strengthening its pioneering role in developing new concepts of urban governance and sustainable city planning, in line with the strategic visions of our wise leadership in making Dubai a global model for smart cities that place human well-being at the heart of its priorities. The week represented a valuable opportunity to exchange experiences and build effective partnerships that contribute to formulating innovative urban solutions that keep pace with future requirements and support urban development goals. Sustainable.

He added: We in Dubai Municipality are keen to translate the outcomes of this qualitative event into practical projects that enhance the readiness of our municipal system for the challenges ahead, through developing predictive policies, adopting advanced digital tools, and expanding areas of cooperation between the public and private sectors, which contributes to consolidating Dubai’s position as a pioneering city in anticipating the future and applying the principles of flexible governance in municipal work.

For his part, His Excellency Khalfan Juma Belhoul, CEO of the Dubai Future Foundation, said: The future of cities will not be based on traditional solutions, but rather on bold innovation to face accelerating global challenges. Our vision is based on five strategic priorities: redefining energy efficiency through smart grids supported by artificial intelligence, addressing thermal inequality through innovative materials that make homes cooler and more sustainable, reconnecting with nature using technologies that mimic the environment and returning humans to a state of balance with their surroundings, confronting water scarcity through autonomous solutions based on renewable energy, and finally protecting biodiversity by transforming cities into living gardens based on artificial intelligence and 3D printing.”

He added: Our goal is for Dubai to be a global laboratory for these transformations, where technology converges with nature to ensure human well-being and the sustainability of life, thus enhancing Dubai’s position as a global center for developing ideas and experiences that reshape the future of cities.

Majid Al Mansouri, Executive Director of the Museum of the Future, said: Over the past two days, Future of Cities Week has formed a distinguished platform to enhance cooperation and push joint action to reach tangible results in terms of redefining the way we imagine the future of cities. The focus during the next phase after this event will be on transforming the ideas and partnerships that crystallized during its event into projects, initiatives and strategies that can be applied on the ground, thus contributing to improving the quality of life, protecting the planet, and enabling cities to face the challenges posed by the current era.

Al Mansouri added: The Future of Cities Week succeeded in consolidating Dubai’s position as a global center for dialogue on the future of digital cities and smart communities. It also reflected the commitment of the Museum of the Future and Dubai Municipality to advancing the global dialogue on governance and urban innovation.

The activities of “Future Cities Week” included a lecture on architecture presented by Jordanian architect Sahel Al-Hiyari, winner of the “Geniuses of the Arabs” award in the “Architecture and Design” category, within the framework of the “Knowledge Forum” sessions, which is organized in cooperation between the Museum of the Future and the “Geniuses of the Arabs” initiative.

Al-Hiyari stressed that architectural design, when managed from a deep human and intellectual perspective, is capable of building vibrant cities connected to identity and knowledge at the same time. He touched on the concept of “the logic of silent intuition,” in which he sees the original basis for creative work, stressing that the design idea arises from an innate feeling that precedes analysis and theory, and that this intuition directs the creative process and gives it its sincerity and balance.

The activities of the second day, within the theme of “Digital Cities, Place-Making, and the Future of Communities,” focused on designing human-centered cities that benefit from digital technologies to enhance the quality of life, and witnessed keynote speeches and extensive discussions.

A session was held under the title “Engine Room of the City of the Future” with the participation of Major General Expert Ali Hassan Al Mutawa, Assistant Director General for Fire and Rescue Affairs at the General Command of Civil Defense in Dubai, Engineer Adel Al Marzouqi, Executive Director of the Waste and Sanitation Corporation in Dubai Municipality, and Ahmed Atiq Abdullah Bourguiba, Executive Director of the Dubai Resilience Center, where the participants discussed ways to enhance flexible governance and institutional readiness in smart city management.

Another session entitled “Proactive Municipality: Shaping the Future Through Foresight Signals,” in which Badr Al Mulla, Head of the Strategic Planning Department at Dubai Municipality, and Muhammad Ali, Future Foresight Expert at Dubai Municipality, participated, discussed mechanisms for employing future foresight in developing municipal services and improving the quality of life in cities.

The session, “The Role of Architecture in Urban Transformation,” moderated by creative strategy and consulting engineer May Barber, discussed the impact of architectural design in building resilient and healthy cities, with the participation of Christos Bassas, director of Zaha Hadid Architects, engineer L-Sam Park, partner and architect at Foster & Partners, Peter Stephenson, managing partner at Omniyat, and Dr. Kevin Mitchell, professor at the American University of Sharjah.

Meanwhile, the session “The Future of Urban Storytelling: Making Sustainability Desirable,” which was moderated by architect and designer Al-Zeina Lootah, witnessed the participation of Marjan Faraidouni, Chief Human Resources Officer and Head of Education and Culture at Expo City Dubai, Ella Colombo, innovative researcher in the field of artificial intelligence, artist, and CEO of Dionde, and Dr. Martina Mazzarello, Global Head of the MIT Sensible Lab, where innovative ideas to motivate communities to adopt Sustainable behaviors through urban design and experience.

As for the session “Well-Designed Communities: Building an Inclusive Urban Future for All,” which was moderated by journalist Inzamam Rasheed from Monocle magazine, Majid Al Mansouri, Executive Director of the Museum of the Future, Dr. Princess Reem Al Hashemi, Director General of Madar-39, and Natasha Carella, Director of Dubai Design Week, discussed the importance of cooperation between sectors to develop cities that put people at the heart of the design process.

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