From November 3 through 5, 2026, IMAGEM will participate in the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona as part of the Dutch delegation of cities, innovative companies, and the national government.
Under the overarching theme “Designing Tomorrow. Delivering Today,” we showcase how the Netherlands is tackling the major societal challenges of our time—from housing construction and the energy transition to mobility, climate adaptation, and quality of life. The Dutch pavilion focuses on how data, digitalization, and collaboration help address these challenges in a comprehensive manner and translate them into concrete results.
Faster Decision-Making in Area Development
For IMAGEM, one question is central to this: How can you accelerate decision-making in urban development without compromising quality, transparency, and public support? It currently takes an average of 10 years for a construction project to be completed. On average, it takes 8 years before construction begins. How can we accelerate decision-making processes so that ambitions, risks, dependencies, and interests are quickly and comprehensively identified?
At the Smart City Expo World Congress, we’ll demonstrate how a shared Digital Reality brings together data, laws and regulations, scenarios, and policy goals from the very start of a project—not only what currently exists, but also what is possible and desirable. As a result, the consequences of choices become apparent sooner, insights emerge more quickly, and you can make better-informed decisions. This makes it possible to:
- to significantly speed up decision-making processes;
- to make decisions in a comprehensive and collaborative manner;
- simulate scenarios and evaluate them against policy objectives;
- to continuously monitor policy objectives and make adjustments as needed.
An inspiring conference for anyone who wants to discover how a shared Digital Reality can contribute to faster and more informed decision-making in complex spatial planning projects.
Monday's Schedule
Leading up to the trade show, we’re also contributing to a content-focused program on Monday titled “The Implementation Gap, ” a program organized by the DMI ecosystem in collaboration with BABLE Smart Cities. At the heart of this is a challenge that many cities and market players recognize: the solutions often already exist, but their implementation lags behind. Not because there is a lack of innovation—on the contrary—but because the alignment between supply and demand is still insufficient. All too often, smart solutions seem to be looking for a problem, while cities struggle to formulate a clear, comprehensive need. How do we break through this impasse? And what does it take to actually make proven innovations part of everyday practice in cities?
More information will follow
In the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing more details about our participation, activities, and the themes we’ll be highlighting during the event. One thing is certain: we look forward to sharing knowledge, making new connections, and working with partners to build livable, sustainable, and future-proof cities and regions.
About Smart City Expo Barcelona
Every year, this leading international event brings together thousands of professionals, policymakers, innovators, and technology companies working to shape the cities of the future.
As the largest and most influential event in the field of smart cities and urban innovation, the Smart City Expo World Congress is dedicated to turning ambitions into concrete solutions. The congress offers a unique platform for knowledge sharing, collaboration, and forging new partnerships to address the challenges of today and tomorrow.
Practical Information
- Date: Tuesday, November 3, through Thursday, November 5
- Location: Fira Barcelona
- Time: Every day from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
