Smart Cities Connect
By Chelsea McCullough
Over the past decade, many of you who attend Smart Cities Connect share that one of the aspects you enjoy most about our events is the opportunity to connect with one another to exchange information and best practices. We hear you! This year, as we approach the Fall 2025 Smart Cities Connect Conference & Expo, we wanted to try something new and are thrilled to introduce The Connection Lab!
The Connection Lab is an entire track that spans the full three days of the conference program. Our purpose and mission is to deliver innovative ways for smart city leaders to get together and talk about what you’ve learned, continue or start conversations, and enjoy interactive, engaging sessions.
We are adding new activities such as:
- Speed Networking with a Twist
- Collision Point: Networking Hour
We continue to offer content that drives to the heart of resident-centered smart cities like:
- The Human-Centered Huddle: Innovating Through Empathy
- Partnering for Purpose: How Nonprofits and Municipalities Can Collaborate for Smarter Cities
- Community Absent, Inclusion Present: When Policy Outpaces Community
We will address key areas for smart city collaboration, inspiration, and discussion including:
- Workshop: Enhancing Community Resilience through AI Driven Situational Awareness
- The Entrepreneurial Engine: How Cities Can Power Small Business Growth
We will also continue important conversations from previous Smart Cities Connect Conferences by welcoming the return of the Whole Community Preparedness for Smart Sustainable Cities and Communities led by NIST.
While The Connection Lab is a new format, keep in mind that we’re also building upon our tradition of offering new ways to connect like the amazing Spring 2024 Food Truck Fiesta in San Antonio (inspired, organized, and led by our friends at U.S. Ignite!), interactive workshops (with partners such as NIST and Sourcewell) and city-based tours in Austin and San Antonio. Of course we will always continue with gatherings and happy hours in the Expo Hall and the Coffee Breaks between sessions.
We want to keep hearing from you about what you like and what else you’d like to see. We welcome any and all feedback! We are grateful for all that you bring and share with us to build a compelling, informative, and relevant program. And we hope you love The Connection Lab! Thank you to all who are contributing to make it a great track within an exciting conference program. See you November 19-21 in Harbor City, MD.