The cities of the future can no longer be thought of solely in terms of infrastructure and urban planning, but rather as living ecosystems capable of responding quickly and intelligently to climatic, economic, and geopolitical challenges. This is one of the main conclusions of the 2025 edition of the “Cities of Tomorrow” conference, organized by the Romanian-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AHK Romania), in collaboration with the Timișoara City Hall and Visit Timișoara, on October 23–24. The event, held under the theme “Liveable Cities: People, Skills & Innovation,” provided a consistent framework for dialogue between representatives of public administration, the business community, and urban development experts from Austria, Switzerland, Germany, and Romania.
At the opening of the conference, Sebastian Metz, CEO of AHK Romania, emphasized that cities are the engine of change, but also the place where global pressures are most visible: “We want to discuss what truly liveable cities mean—communities that offer a good quality of life, modern infrastructure, and efficient services—but also how, especially in the current extremely volatile context, cities can become more resilient in the face of geopolitical, economic, climatic, and technological challenges. […] Solutions can be found through regional cooperation, local innovation, and closer connections between government, the private sector, and society.”
The mayor of Timișoara, Dominic Fritz, drew attention to the need for local administrations to have the courage to innovate, even at the risk of making mistakes. One of the major challenges for public administrations is to avoid inertia and maintain focus on citizens. Another is the ability to innovate and try new things. “We are trying to break this vicious circle here in Timișoara, because for some time now, more precisely in the last five years, we have attracted over €350 million for many projects from European funds, primarily for urban mobility, for the renewal of the public transport fleet, but also for schools and kindergartens,” he said.
The human dimension of cities was also highlighted by Anja Zougouari, Consul of the Federal Republic of Germany in Timișoara: “The heart of a city is not its buildings or documents, but its people—their ideas and skills, their desire to get involved, and their courage to bring about change.”
The debates focused on smart urbanism—a concept that is increasingly present in urban development strategies. Professor Vicente Carabias-Hütter, from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences and Smart City Manager for the city of Winterthur, presented its transformation from an industrial center into a city of innovation and culture. A smart city is one that offers a high standard of living with low resource consumption. This is achieved through integrated infrastructure networks—energy, transport, communications—and the active participation of citizens and economic actors, he explained. The Swiss model of Smart City Implementation was presented as a reference guide for local administrations wishing to combine technological innovation with energy efficiency and community involvement.
Another example of good practice came from Austria, presented by Christian Nußmüller, urban planning expert at Graz City Hall. He showed how decarbonizing transport, the circular economy, and protecting green spaces directly contribute to the quality of urban life. In the long term, the development of a successful city is based on interdisciplinary cooperation between the administration, the private sector, academia, and citizens. This must be transparent and fair at all levels of government, he said.
The event also included the traditional urban projects competition, which awarded prizes to initiatives from the administration, business community, and civil society. The winners of the 2025 edition were: Routemix, for the project “Urban mobility assistant based on artificial intelligence”; Sibiu City Hall, with the project “Connecting Sibiu through a green/blue corridor on the banks of the Cibin River”; and the ÎntreVecini Association, for the project “Building communities.”
“Cities of Tomorrow” remains AHK Romania’s flagship event dedicated to urban and regional development, a meeting place for administrations, companies, and experts interested in building more sustainable, competitive, and attractive cities. This year’s edition brought together over 250 participants, confirming the relevance of the theme and transnational dialogue for Romania’s urban future.
Energynomics was a media partner of the event and contributed to the preparatory round table in Cluj-Napoca (September 29) on the topic of Energy Efficiency and Energy Management.