As we enter the second half of 2025, it’s a good moment to take stock, look at your network, and look ahead to important events coming up over the months. So I thought that today, I’d share my favourite conferences and gatherings for urbanists, planners, and citymakers. Each one of them offers great opportunities to reconnect, learn, and be inspired by peers who tackle similar challenges in their cities.
Here is my curated list of my top four upcoming urbanist conferences with a focus on Europe. They are events I have either attended personally or am particularly excited about this year.
And beyond the content of these conferences, simply being there is very valuable – for networking and gatherings. After all, urbanists need collaboration at least as much as other professionals, probably more. At conferences and urban events, we can break down silos, mix disciplines, and learn about real-world projects while waiting for a coffee.
Placemaking Week Europe: Hands-on city-shaping
Reggio Emilia, Italy | September 23-26, 2025
If you want to experience how shaping a city can start in the street, Placemaking Week Europe is for you. Each year, 400+ placemakers gather in a new host city to explore the intersection of public space, community, and design.
Unlike many conferences, this one often includes real-world interventions in the host city, from temporary installations to co-created spaces. It’s deeply hands-on, filled with site visits, workshops, and discussions about public life. This year’s edition will take place in Italy’s Reggio Emilia – unfortunately, I can’t make it, but I’ve already bookmarked late summer 2026 for the next edition!
Why it’s worth attending: Placemaking Week Europe isn’t about panels, it’s about people. The informal, experimental atmosphere makes it ideal for building genuine, working relationships across borders.
Utopian Hours: A festival for citymakers
Turin, Italy | October 17–19, 2025
With over 35 international speakers, more than 250 city officials and professionals from Europe joining the conversation, two guest cities, and 4,000 attendees, this event promises three inspiring days. I’m excited to attend this year for the first time.
Described as “the most inspiring festival about citymaking,” Utopian Hours is much more than just another conference. Instead, it promises to be an urbanist’s playground. Held in the beautiful city of Turin and organised by the nonprofit Stratosferica, this event has earned a loyal following thanks to its imaginative curation and festive, inclusive tone.
This year’s theme, “United Cities,” asks how metropolises can drive global progress by learning from one another and collaborating. With over 35 international speakers, 250+ officials and professionals, and more than 4,000 attendees, Utopian Hours 2025 promises to be three days of insight, creativity, and optimism.
Topics include:
- Placemaking
- Data Urbanism
- Future Mobility
- Urban Ecology
- Climate Adaptation
- Urban AI
- Community Building
- Visionary Ideas
- Social Innovation
- City Imaging
- Urban Utopias
- Experimental Architecture
Why it’s worth attending: The atmosphere is as important as the agenda. There’s a true festival vibe here, which makes networking more natural and human. In turn, ideas emerge everywhere, not just in structured sessions.
Urban Future: The Better-Cities Event
Ljubljana, Slovenia | Spring 2026
I particularly enjoy urbanist meetings that have a positive impact on their host city. And Urban Future (UF) is one of the most events I have been to, showcasing innovations in cities in a diverse, bold, and fun way. Described as a “Better-Cities Event”, UF happens in a different European city every year. The 2025 took place in Łódź, Poland, and the next edition will be in Ljubljana, Slovenia in spring 2026 – showcasing the city’s bold, green moves.
Every year, Urban Future takes place in a different European city to celebrate bold, forward-thinking urban transformation. In 2025, it was Łódź, Poland. In 2026, all eyes are on Ljubljana, a city often cited as one of Europe’s greenest and most citizen-centred.
This “Better-Cities Event” has a bold, dynamic, and unapologetically practical vibe. It’s the place to be to connect with urban changemakers who actually walk the talk. This is why I am particularly excited to go to Ljubljana next spring, a city whose transformation is a case study in “doing, not just planning”: For over a decade, Ljubljana has put citizens first by strategically pedestrianising its city centre, transforming roads into vibrant public spaces, creating riverside promenades and enacting commitments to circularity, climate adaptation, and community-driven planning.
Why it’s worth attending: UF is action-oriented and friendly, attracting urbanists who want to get real change done. It’s perfect for expanding your peer network—and maybe joining a working group or pilot project along the way.
World Urban Forum: The biggest urban gathering
Baku, Azerbaijan | May 18–22, 2026
Organised by UN-Habitat, the World Urban Forum (WUF) is the biggest stage for global urbanism. I’ve had the privilege to attend several editions, including in Quito, Ecuador; Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Katowice, Poland; and Cairo, Egypt, and can confirm: it’s intense, overwhelming, and invaluable.
Attracting 20,000+ participants from government, academia, civil society, and the private sector, WUF is the closest thing we have to a global town hall for cities. The 13th edition in Baku will explore the challenges and opportunities of rapid urbanisation and sustainable development.
Pro tip: Choose a focus area, like green infrastructure, affordable housing, or digital inclusion, and build your agenda around it. With hundreds of parallel events, field visits, and side sessions, focus is key to making meaningful connections. Also: don’t skip the networking events and informal gatherings after-hours.
Urban journalists at conferences
Conferences and urban events offer great networking moments, insights into what other cities and countries are up to, and interesting field trip. Yes, they can often be overwhelming and dominated by talking rather than doing, but I still think that they are invaluable and would highly recommend giving one of them a try!
As an urban journalist, I also enjoy the opportunity of getting to know different cities that I normally wouldn’t have visited by attending these and other events. I always try to write at least one article about an interesting solution I come across, like this one about Cairo:
For a full monthly overview of urban planning conferences from all over the world, I can recommend this extensive list.
Over to you – what other conferences and events for urbanists do you recommend? Leave a comment!
