Following the announcement of the 3rd Cycle Shanghai Award winners during the Award Ceremony at Global Observance of World Cities Day in Bogotá, Colombia, global city leaders, urban experts, and innovators gathered for the Shanghai Award side event on “Building a Sustainable Urban Future Together.”
Jointly hosted by UN-Habitat and the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Housing, Urban-Rural Development and Management, the event celebrated the growing network of Shanghai Award cities advancing the 2030 Agenda and the New Urban Agenda through innovative, inclusive, and sustainable approaches.
Over 80 participants – including Shanghai Award winning and shortlisted cities from 2025 and previous cycles, international experts, academia, and private sector representatives – came together to exchange experiences, highlight urban innovation, and explore opportunities for international collaboration.
Opening remarks were delivered by H.E. Mr. Ni Hong, Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of China; Mr. Elkin Velásquez, Regional Representative of UN-Habitat for Latin America and the Caribbean; Mr. Gu Honghui, Counsellor of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government; and Ms. Vanessa Velasco, Bogotá’s Secretary of Habitat. Their messages underscored the importance of international cooperation and local leadership in shaping sustainable, resilient, and inclusive cities worldwide.
During the City Leaders Dialogue, representatives from the Shanghai Award 3rd cycle winning cities (Bogotá, Espoo, Incheon, Algiers & Al Madinah), and Mayor of Katowice and Deputy Mayor of Fuzhou, shared experiences and lessons from their cities’ journeys toward sustainable urban transformation.
Echoing the theme of 2025 Global Observance of World Cities Day on people-centred smart cities, the side event had the honour to have Dr. Wang Jian, Academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering, to deliver a keynote presentation on AI and cities.
The second half of the event spotlighted insights from speakers representing 2025 Shanghai Award shortlisted cities, academia, and private sector partners. The cities of Guangzhou, Istanbul, Mombasa, Dubai, Mendoza, Braga, Cuenca, and Salvador de Bahia (1st cycle winning city) and Barranquilla (1st and 2nd cycle shortlisted city) presented innovative projects in housing, climate adaptation, governance and digital transformation. Contributions from institutions like the Shanghai Meteorological Service, Shanghai University, and Shanghai Municipal Engineering Design Institute (SMEDI) further demonstrated how cross-sectoral collaboration can drive resilient, inclusive urban development.
In the afternoon, the session “AI Empowering Sustainable Urban Future”, organized by UN-Habitat China Office, explored how emerging technologies are shaping urban transformation. It opened with remarks by H.E. Ms. Aydee Marqueza Marsiglia Bello, Colombia’s Deputy Minister of Housing, City and Territory, and Mr. Zhang Zhenshan, Senior Advisor at UN-Habitat. The session launched two flagship publications – Future Cities Advisory Outlook 2025: AI and Cities and Beijing Future Science City Sustainable Development Practice: Innovation and Achievement – and unveiled the new citybrain.org platform, connecting digital innovation to sustainable urban management.
Concluding the event, participants emphasized the Shanghai Award’s growing role as a global platform for city innovation and partnership, enabling urban leaders to learn from one another and build a shared vision for sustainable urban futures.