Representatives of over 350 cities expected at Smart City Expo in Mexico

Representatives from over 350 cities around the world will gather for the 3rd Smart City Expo Latam Congress (SCELC) on July 2-4 in the Mexican city of Puebla, organizers said.

The congress, which is being organized by Fira Barcelona Mexico and will bring around 13,000 visitors to the south-central Mexican city, will have the theme “Radical Inclusion, A Space for Everyone.”

The conference will feature presentations by some 280 experts on innovation and urban planning.

“This summit is the largest event for urban and land transformation in Latin America,” Manuel Redondo, president of Fira Barcelona Mexico, said during a presentation on Wednesday.

Redondo said the conference’s purpose was to promote projects that seek to improve the quality of life of citizens via the joint efforts of change agents, including government at all levels, civil society organizations, universities, businesses and other institutions.

In this edition of the SCELC, one of the challenges is to connect with citizens, who should collaborate in the conception of cities and be more involved in such areas as urban planning, waste management, mobility and water use, Redondo said.

The 3rd SCELC will focus on mobility and urban and land use planning; citizen empowerment and public governance; equity, learning and culture; energy and environment; economic development; security and flexibility; conservation; and water optimization.

According to the organizers, the event is a celebration and an open space for countries to collaborate and propose solutions for the urban challenges of Latin America.

One of the legacies of the congress is the Smart LatAm Alliance, in association with UN-Habitat, a platform created for collaboration by public and private institutions, whose purpose is the urban and land transformation in the region, organizers said.

“We know the meeting and alliance are a public good for the region, which benefits everyone. The initiative strives to impact all of Latin America and the Caribbean, something the UN can’t ignore,” Elkin Velasquez, regional director of UN-Habitat in Latin America and the Caribbean, said.

Fira Barcelona said the SCELC in Puebla demonstrates the international expansion of the smart cities conferences and would be No. 2 in terms of visitors, trailing only the Smart City Expo World Congress, which will take place in Barcelona, Spain, in November.