Once again, this November, Barcelona became the global stage for urban innovation. This year’s Smart City Expo World Congress brought together over 27,000 visitors and 1,100 exhibitors, confirming its role as the leading event for smart city strategies.
What stood out to me was the growing presence of city administrations and public institutions, both as exhibitors, visitors, and delegates. I read this as a signal of a clear shift: cities are no longer just exploring technology - they are actively shaping strategies and governance frameworks, seeking consultancy, and demonstrating a deeper awareness of what it takes to build smarter, and more resilient, urban environments.
With this in mind, this year we aimed to create not just a booth, but a space for dialogue and reflection, complementing technology showcase with three panel discussions over the three days of the event. Each session focused on key challenges and opportunities for cities, offering practical insights and fostering exchange among experts on what we consider the three pillars of a smart city: security, mobility, and ethical AI - topics that are shaping the future of urban life.
Building safer public spaces: the role of law enforcement, technology, and shared knowledge
Although security is not the primary focus of the Expo, it remains an essential pillar of any smart city strategy: no city can be considered truly smart without first ensuring its safety.
“Sharing is caring” has been the sentence that opened our first panel, that perfectly sums up the essence of smart cities: collaboration is the foundation of safety. Security in public spaces is not just about technology; it is about trust, cooperation, and preparedness.
The European initiative PACTESUR2 represented by the city of Turinembodies this vision by promoting collaborative models between cities and law enforcement, and investing in advanced training to ensure that local forces can face new challenges with confidence.
Alongside this, Madrid and Nice shared how these principles translate into concrete strategies for urban resilience. Taking MADO as a use case, when over 3 million people gathered across 4 days, Madrid showed how resilience is built through integrated strategies for large-scale events. Managing mobility, access control, and crowd safety for millions of visitors requires coordination across multiple units, different security systems, and rapid response teams.
This approach demonstrates how technology and human expertise work together to ensure security during complex, high-density gatherings, setting a best practice for other cities facing similar challenges. The city of Nice demonstrated how technology and human expertise can work together to make public spaces safer. Guided by the principle of building a “temple of safety,” the city has embraced innovation not as an end, but as a tool for collaboration.
From AI-powered surveillance and public alert systems to the creation of a dedicated Event Safety Service (SSE), Nice is shaping a proactive approach to risk management. Future plans include a unified command center to integrate data and strengthen coordination between local and national forces. Definitively another best practice for cities committed to sharing knowledge and innovating together for urban security.
These cases confirm that technology, when combined with skilled teams, becomes a powerful enabler to strengthen resilience and protect public spaces.
Smart mobility: turning data into actionable insights
When we talk about Smart Cities, mobility inevitably comes into the conversation: it is one of the most advanced and impactful use cases, supported by a mature technological ecosystem and countless real-world applications. Indeed, cities are evolving rapidly, and so are the expectations of citizens and operators: journeys must be safe, smooth, and efficient. To achieve this, urban systems need more than infrastructure—they need the ability to see, understand, and act.
The second panel we hosted explored how AI and intelligent vision are reshaping urban mobility. Intelligent Transport Systems are creating integrated ecosystems, AI enables real-time traffic optimization and predictive analytics to anticipate mobility patterns, and intelligent platforms connect multiple transport modes to deliver safer and more efficient journeys. The focus was clear: moving from reactive traffic management to proactive, data-driven strategies that prevent incidents and improve sustainability.
And this vision is already becoming reality through a wide range of use cases. From real-time solutions to optimize services, to predictive analytics that anticipate traffic flows, and projects designed to protect vulnerable road users like cyclists - and even advanced mobility control centers that remotely adjust traffic lights to reduce congestion and pollution. These examples show how technology is evolving from simple monitoring to decision-support systems capable of making cities more livable.
The message is clear: smart mobility is no longer futuristic—it’s happening now. By combining AI, data, and collaboration, cities can move from reactive traffic management to predictive models that anticipate flows and deliver safer, more efficient journeys.
Ethical AI: building citizen trust
The adoption of AI in urban management opens opportunities to improve safety, optimize services, and make more informed decisions. But it also raises ethical questions that cities must address. Administrations, specialized organizations, and technology providers agree on the need for clear frameworks that guarantee responsible, transparent use aligned with citizens’ rights—especially in sensitive areas such as video surveillance or data analysis.
In France, organizations like AN2V are helping municipalities navigate this process. Their work in classifying more than two hundred use cases highlights both the complexity of defining common criteria and the value of having methodologies that allow cities to move forward with greater legal and social security. Experience shows that, beyond the technology itself, solid governance is essential.
Other European cities are following similar paths. In Italy, Turin has developed specific strategies for digitization and data management, as well as creating an ethics committee to oversee the introduction of AI-based solutions. While in Finland, Tampere advocates continuous dialogue with citizens and collaborative structures such as its artificial intelligence hub, which involves companies and universities.
These initiatives reflect a common idea: AI only generates value if it is incorporated in a way that is understandable, participatory, and compatible with the principles that underpin democratic urban life.
Looking ahead: from “What if” to reality
As I look back on these three days in Barcelona, one thought strongly resonates: many of the ideas that were just “what if” scenarios a few years ago, are now tangible projects, shaping real cities. We’ve seen concepts move from slides and prototypes to streets and squares, improving safety, mobility, and trust in technology.
That progress is inspiring and motivates me to continuously imagine possible scenarios -because every 'what if' opens the door to new opportunities: if yesterday’s 'what if' has become today’s reality, what will tomorrow look like?
What is your next “what if”?
Because the future of cities will not be built by chance: it will be shaped by those who dare to ask the right questions and turn them into action.
At Axis, we believe technology can help cities anticipate challenges and create environments that are safer, more sustainable, and more inclusive.
The journey continues—and the next step starts with imagining what’s possible.
