As cities worldwide confront new pressures and possibilities, Smart Cities Summit North America 2025 marked a defining moment in our collective urban journey. Held in San Francisco—a city long synonymous with innovation and resilience—the Summit brought together visionaries, technologists, public servants, and community stewards from over 18 countries. What emerged was more than a conference; it was a catalytic movement.
Convening global leaders across disciplines and sectors, the Summit focused on a shared commitment to building smarter, more human-centered cities, rooted in dignity, cultural identity, and collaborative innovation.
As emcee of the Global Leaders Forum, I had a front-row seat to hear from leaders I've long admired. What I witnessed wasn’t just enthusiasm—but urgency and clarity of purpose. Whether navigating post-conflict recovery or planning climate-resilient infrastructure, a common theme emerged: the future of place is borderless, inclusive, and deeply collaborative.
Smart Cities Council Chair and President Corey Gray set the tone with a bold challenge: to reframe smart cities not as isolated pilot projects but as systems of belonging, powered by data with purpose. In his words:
“We’re not just here to talk about infrastructure—we’re here to build futures for our children.”
Throughout the event, speakers and participants shared solutions, use cases and practical pathways to insight to implementation. Whether navigating post-conflict recovery or planning climate-resilient infrastructure, a common theme emerged: the future of place is borderless, inclusive, and deeply collaborative.
A Global Forum for Leaders
“We live in a world obsessed with what’s next — faster, smarter, more connected. Technology has transformed the way our cities operate, but as innovation accelerates, one critical question remains largely unanswered: When does technology finally start working for us?” That was a question from Mike Lake, President & CEO of Leading Cities, as he challenged the prevailing narrative of smart city innovation, not as a race to adopt the latest tools, but as a responsibility to ensure those tools deliver for the people they serve.
From Holger Schlechter’, CFO for International Free Zone Authority's call to build global bridges for shared opportunity to Lisa Brown, Executive Director for State and Federal Government Solutions at Johnson Control’s exploration of secure, connected, and sustainable infrastructure, this question echoed throughout the summit. Anthony Dean’s reflections on moving from passive data observation to actionable intelligence through AI highlighted the urgency of leveraging insight for impact.
A highlight of Schlechter's presentation was IFZA’s role in supporting governments and stakeholders to design and operate fully integrated Free Zones - zones that serve as economic accelerators with built-in digital infrastructure, governance, and business onboarding capabilities. "These are not just smart districts - they’re smart entry points to global business and innovation," he said. "In addition, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is essential not only for fuelling business growth but also for financing the broader social and infrastructure goals of smart cities. Structured Free Zone frameworks can help attract and channel FDI to the areas that need it most."
We heard from regional leaders like Globetom's John Brooks, Julie Lawrie, and Ricardo Noguera on how smaller cities across the U.S. are actively transforming affordability, livability, and quality of life — not with abstract visions, but with grounded, measurable strategies.
Insights from Mexico’s journey to national smart city scaling added a global dimension, while Byron Kaufman reminded us that without innovation accelerating the energy transition, sustainability remains just out of reach. Meanwhile, the Coast to Coast Foundation’s collaborative session featuring Dr. Peter Van Deventer, Jan van der Wel, Steven Voit, and Peter van Oorschot gave practical substance to the promise of “smart for all”—from adaptive traffic solutions to cross-continental data integration.
That theme of actionable transformation continued in sessions focused on digital twins and regenerative design. In his keynote on AI and ML-powered residential infrastructure envisioned a “SimCity-like” model for real-world resilience, James Ehrlich, a Stanford University researcher and founder of ReGen Villages took this vision a step further, showcasing how AI-driven generative design can integrate renewable energy, food systems, and water recycling into neighborhood-scale living environments. With experience spanning NASA, Singularity University, and White House initiatives, Ehrlich framed regenerative villages not as far-off utopias but as essential templates for climate adaptation and compassionate sustainability. As mobility continues to reshape our urban fabric, final sessions tackled the legal, financial, and governance frameworks that must evolve in lockstep to manage risk and enable innovation at scale.
Key Themes: Across Borders, Beyond Boundaries
Global Collaboration as a Prerequisite for Progress
From water scarcity to energy transition, no city can tackle these issues alone. Leaders emphasized harmonized standards, shared funding models, and open innovation ecosystems. Dedicated sessions on Regional Communities signaled a powerful shift, supporting towns under 100,000 residents with digital infrastructure, cloud connectivity, and collaborative capital.
Equity and Cultural Identity in Urban Design
Cities can be smart, but ultimately have to be human. The critical role of art, culture, urban greening, and Indigenous data sovereignty were highlighted, with a call for cities to honor cultural resonance, ensuring technology serves not only functional but also emotional and societal needs.
Smart Cities in Conflict and Recovery Zones
A highlight of the Summit was its exploration of smart infrastructure in conflict-affected regions like Ukraine, the Middle East, and Central Africa. These sessions underscored technology’s role in restoring essential services and rebuilding trust that didn’t shy away from complexity and offered a poignant example of shared futures built through economic cooperation and smart mobility. One such panel honed in on economic prosperity in the Middle East.
Sharing his work utilizing mobility to connect Israel and Palestinian areas, Khaled Daher, Smart Mobility Lecturer at ZIGURAT Institute of Technology and Installation General Manager at CAF (Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles), was joined by Omer Fein, Chief Economic Consul and Head of the Israel Economic and Trade Mission to the West Coast of the U.S.A., Matthew Murray, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce, Alan Boehme, Fortune 100 CTO, Alex Veytsman, Chief Technology and AI Officer @ Artificial by Design and Micro Data Center | Former Chief Technology and AI Officer @ Dell Technologies, supported by Corey Gray and Junaid Islam. The panel, a powerful show of unity, created an environment of respect, understanding, acceptance and hope on a difficult topic. Khaled drove home the need to be sharing solutions beyond borders reiterating that our collective goals of smart mobility, disaster response, and better places and spaces for everyone prove that when we connect, we can overcome challenges.
The image of Fein and Daher sitting side by side, discussing transport connectivity between Israeli and Palestinian regions, was profound. Their dialogue symbolized shared commitment, even amid historic tensions. As Khaled put it: "We must share solutions beyond borders. Peace and prosperity require connection”
Smart Health as a Cornerstone of Urban Futures
The unveiling of the Healthspan Framework marked a global milestone, embedding longevity, wellness, and dignity into urban development. This visionary approach positions health as a pillar of city design, supporting care at home, in communities, and across lifespans.
Africa’s Digital Leap
Africa was front and centre on the agenda with two standout sessions.
After sharing his insights on the USA, looking at geopolitics and geoeconomics, Matthew Murray led a panel discussion on the Kinshasa Mercantile Exchange, a $650m initiative by the Democratic Republic of the Congo to create a centralised blockchain enabled commodities environment for asset trading alongside key people driving this initiative are Jacob Clayton from SAGINT, H.E Guy Luando, Minister for Spatial Services in the DRC and Alda Kule Dale.
Then, we zoomed in on the impacts of population growth and urbanization outpacing legacy infrastructure models. These are not issues unique to Africa but in order to meet the needs of cities that are growing in both complexity and urgency and build infrastructure that’s not only smarter and more sustainable, solutions need to reflect the needs, agency, and aspirations of the communities they serve.
The panel, which included Byron Kaufman - Gridscience, Coco Liu - iTana Africa and Rob Pyman - Nexsis, highlighted the fact that a new generation of leaders, technologists, and designers are stepping up. They're not just delivering clean water, renewable energy, and smart grids—they’re pioneering decentralized models of service delivery and governance that challenge outdated assumptions.
Regional Innovation and Agentic AI
The emphasis on regional communities as the foundation of innovation was clear. Lisa Brown, Executive Director for State and Federal Government Solutions at Johnson Controls delivered a keynote on resilient government infrastructure diving into the fundamental shift in how spaces and places are perceived and managed and the Digital Twin Consortium's Dan Isaacs presented on the evolution of digital twins illustrating the evolution of secure, connected and sustainable infrastructure. We looked at how AI and predictive systems can support everything from disaster management to emergency response. Agentic AI, championed by Silicon Valley veteran, technology innovator and founder of Vantiq, Marty Sprinzen, was heralded as a breakthrough tool for advancing climate resilience, public safety, and sustainable infrastructure.
Yet no discussion of smart cities is complete without addressing security, compliance, governance and ethics.
As cities become smarter and more data-driven, the foundations of progress are no longer just technology but trust. Digital trust is a critical enabler, allowing citizens, government and industry to confidently embrace innovation whilst safeguarding privacy, security, and ethical use of data and AI. This was covered throughout the Summit, specifically in two sessions: First, a conversation around Digital Trust led by SCC Global Thought Leader, Junaid Isla,m alongside Nicole Stephensen, Helios Salinger, Brian Wane, XQ Message, Dana Kawas, Thynkli, Chris Lane, Smart AI Connect and John Ogle, Symbiosis. Then, with Sara Aiello at the helm, talking about Global AI Legislation Compliance and Reporting alongside David Sprinzen - Vantiq, Chris Lane - Smart AI Connect, and Dana Kawas - Thynkli.
"A key insight that resonated throughout my session - and one I believe should shape the global smart city conversation - is that cities must be reimagined not as technology showcases, but as dynamic, inclusive platforms that integrate governance, economy, and citizen engagement. Technology alone is no longer the differentiator; the real shift happens when cities are designed as ecosystems that enable entrepreneurship, productivity, and sustainable growth."
— Holger Schlechter, International Free Zone Authority
The final session of any conference is always a tough act, but who better to close out the summit than Brian Ogle - Founder of Symbiosis - who drove home the importance of cybersecurity and OT security for advancing critical smart city operations, worldwide.
Where do we go from here?
For the International Free Zone Authority, participating in the Smart Cities Summit North America offered a clear view of where the momentum is building and where more targeted action is needed. One of the most actionable next steps is for cities to shift their approach from isolated pilots to scalable, investment-ready ecosystems. This means moving beyond simply adopting smart technologies and instead building integrated platforms that bring together infrastructure, data, governance, and business enablement.
"From my perspective, the following priorities are critical for accelerating smart city progress:
First, creating economic zones with embedded thriving ecosystems: At IFZA, we believe smart cities must also be smart economies. That means enabling entrepreneurs, SMEs, and investors to operate with speed, compliance, and access to services - all within a digitally connected environment. The Free Zone model provides a real foundation for this. They not only enable business growth but also play a vital role in ensuring regulatory compliance through KYC frameworks, AML safeguards, and the ability to apply internationally recognized legal standards such as common law.
Then, using data as a utility, not a byproduct: Cities should focus on building systems that not only collect data but actively use it to inform services in real time, from mobility and energy management to urban planning," said Holger Schlechter.
As we return to our agencies, communities, and companies, let the Summit serve as a reminder that we carry a responsibility to advance equity, resilience, and digital inclusion. The future of place must be co-created with intention, imagination, and integrity.
Smart cities aren’t destination points—they’re dynamic frameworks for solving complex challenges, grounded in values, cooperation, and continuous innovation. New partnerships and insights forged in San Francisco will continue through task forces, research, and regional meetups worldwide.
At Smart Cities Council, we remain energized by the shared mission to build a world where every community has access to the digital tools and networks, the infrastructure and resilience that foster prosperity, sustainability, and belonging.
