What will future cities and regions look like?

Cities and regions are at a precipice. Leading researchers, practitioners, community advocates and industry heads come together in this year's Festival of 'Future' Urbanism to debate the threats and opportunities facing our cities and regional areas through live and online events, podcasts and films. The climate crisis, rising social inequality and the ongoing global pandemic begs the question of what our future cities and regions will look like. A diverse list of speakers and thought leaders will debate and define opportunities to bring about better urban and regional futures. Urban planning, as a future-oriented discipline, has often embraced new technological solutions at the expense of meaningful community engagement or systemic change. Yet the promise of the so called 'smart city', while often unrealised, brings with it a space to explore alternatives and opportunities for more socially just and environmentally resilient places. In this context, the 9th Festival of Urbanism (12-23 September) asks how our future cities and regions will change and what interventions are needed to address past mistakes.