MDPI Webinar | World Cities Day, 31 October 2025
To commemorate World Cities Day 2025, MDPI is pleased to host a special webinar dedicated to exploring the theme “People-Centered Smart Cities”. This year’s observance highlights how digital technologies, data-driven decision making, and AI are reshaping the way cities are designed, managed, and experienced—placing people at the heart of urban innovation.
Through insightful discussions with global experts, researchers, and practitioners, our webinar will showcase best practices and strategies that demonstrate how smart city initiatives can foster inclusivity, sustainability, and resilience. It will also explore how technology can enhance quality of life, improve urban services, and address key challenges such as housing, accessibility, and equitable growth.
Join us as we celebrate World Cities Day 2025, exchange ideas, and envision a future where technology and human needs work hand in hand to build smarter, more inclusive, and sustainable cities for all.
Session 1a and 1b:
Keywords: urbanization; sustainability; innovation; data-driven; smart cities; transformation
Date: 31 October 2025
Time:
- Session 1a: 8:00 a.m. CET | 5:00 p.m. AEST | 3:00 p.m. CST Asia
- Session 1b: 10:00 a.m. CET | 7:00 p.m. AEST | 5:00 p.m. CST Asia
Webinar ID: 811 9009 1243
Website: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/4617603373062/WN__7o_kvdrRm-oggJlW5DT7A
Register now for free!
| Speaker/Presentation | Time in CET | Time in CST Asia |
| MDPI Introduction | 8:00–8:10 a.m. | 3:00–3:10 p.m. |
| Prof. Esteve Almirall Disrupting Cities |
8:10–8:30 a.m. | 3:10–3:30 p.m. |
| Prof. Dr. Igor Calzada People-Centered Smart Cities from Action Research: New Research Avenues in the Age of Urban AI |
8:30–8:50 a.m. | 3:30–3:50 p.m. |
| Dr. Antonio Jara Leveraging Local Digital Twins, Real-Time IoT and Citiverse for Sustainable Growth |
8:50–9:10 a.m. | 3:50–4:10 p.m. |
| Q&A Session | 9:10–9:25 a.m. | 4:10–4:25 p.m. |
| Closing of Webinar | 9:25–9:30 a.m. | 4:25–4:30 p.m. |
| 30 min Break | 9:30–10:00 a.m. | 4:30–5:00 p.m. |
| MDPI Introduction | 10:00–10:10 a.m. | 5:00–5:10 p.m. |
| Prof. Filipe Moura Designing Streets for People: Data-Driven Tools for Human-Centred Urban Transformation |
10:10–10:30 a.m. | 5:10–5:30 p.m. |
| Dr. Vasiliki Assimakopoulos FAIRCITY: The Innovative Smart City Air Quality Monitoring Network Employing The Info Kiosks |
10:30–10:50 a.m. | 5:30–5:50 p.m. |
| Dr. Sara Shirowzhan Geospatial thinking for Sustainable Development Goal 11 |
10:50–11:10 a.m. |
5:50–6:10 p.m. |
| Dr. Vinoj. Velu Urbanization and Climate Change over Rapidly Growing Indian Cities: Implications for Climate Resilience |
11:10–11:30 a.m. | 6:10–6:30 p.m. |
| Q&A Session | 11:30–11:45 a.m. | 6:30–6:45 p.m. |
| Closing of Webinar | 11:45–11:50 a.m. | 6:45–6:50 p.m. |
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information on how to join the webinar. Registrations with academic institutional email addresses will be prioritized.
Unable to attend? Register anyway, and we will let you know when the recording is available for viewing.
Webinar Keynote Speakers:
- Prof. Esteve Almirall, Center for Innovation in Cities, Esade Business School, Spain;
- Prof. Dr. Igor Calzada, Interdisciplinary AI Economics, Social Sciences and Humanities, University of the Basque/Ikerbasque, Spain;
- Dr. Antonio Jara, IoT, AI and Environmental Digital Twins, Libelium, Spain;
- Prof. Filipe Moura, Civil Engineering Research and Innovation for Sustainability (CERIS), Institution Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, Portugal;
- Dr. Vasiliki Assimakopoulos, Urban Air Quality, Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, Greece;
- Dr. Sara Shirowzhan, School of Built Environment, The University of New South Wales (UNSW), Australia;
- Dr. Vinoj Velu, School of Earth, Ocean and Climate Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar, India.
Session 2a and 2b:
Keywords: urbanization; sustainability; innovation; data-driven; smart cities; transformation
Date: 31 October 2025
Time:
- Session 2a: 2:00 p.m. CET | 8:00 a.m. EDT | 9:00 p.m. CST Asia
- Session 2b: 4:00 p.m. CET | 11:00 a.m. EDT | 11:00 p.m. CST Asia
Webinar ID: 893 4362 4672
Website: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/9817606686771/WN_rzy6pKRmS-GwhaOp1QunzA
Register now for free!
| Speaker/ Presentation | Time in CET | Time in CST Asia |
| MDPI Introduction | 2:00–2:05 p.m. | 9:00–9:05 p.m. |
| Dr. Chenghao Wang Resolving Complexity in Urban Climate Modeling: Challenges and Opportunities |
2:05–2:25 p.m. | 9:05–9:25 p.m. |
| Prof. Dr. Xavier Fernando Vehicular Communication for Smart Transportation |
2:25–2:45 p.m. | 9:25–9:45 p.m. |
| Prof. Dr. Patrick Hung Meditating With Machines: When Spiritual Symbols Meet Augmented Reality |
2:45–3:05 p.m. | 9:45 p.m.- 10:05 p.m. |
| Prof. Soe Myint Examining racial and socioeconomic disparities in connection to environmental inequalities in the US Southwest |
3:05–3:25 p.m. | 10:05–10:25 p.m. |
| Q&A Session | 3:25–3:50 p.m. | 10:25–10:50 p.m. |
| Closing of Webinar | 3:50–3:55 p.m. | 10:50–10:55 p.m. |
| 25 min Break | 3:55–4:00 p.m. | 10:55–11:00 p.m. |
| MDPI Introduction | 4:00–4:05 p.m. | 11:00–11:05 p.m. |
| Prof. Dr. Chockalingam Aravind Vaithilingam Harvesting the Value of Water: Empowering Local Action for Sustainable and Resilient Communities |
4:05–4:25 p.m. | 11:05–11:25 p.m. |
| Dr. Alexandros A Lavdas The Geometry of Nature: Beyond Style |
4:25–4:45 p.m. | 11:25–11:45 p.m. |
| Prof. Dr. Noor Zaman The Secure Smart City: Balancing Innovation, Privacy, and Human Dignity in the Digital Age |
4:45–5:05 p.m. | 11:45 p.m.–12:05 a.m. |
| Q&A Session | 5:05–5:25 p.m. | 12:05–12:25 a.m. |
| Closing of Webinar | 5:25–5:30 p.m. | 12:25–12:30 a.m. |
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information on how to join the webinar. Registrations with academic institutional email addresses will be prioritized.
Unable to attend? Register anyway, and we will let you know when the recording is available for viewing.
Webinar Keynote Speakers:
- Dr. Chenghao Wang, School of Meteorology and Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability, University of Oklahoma, United States;
- Prof. Dr. Xavier Fernando, Electrical, Computer and Biomedical Engineering, Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada;
- Prof. Dr. Patrick Hung, Faculty of Business and IT, Ontario Tech University, Canada;
- Prof. Dr. Chockalingam Aravind Vaithilingam, School of Engineering, Taylor's University, Malaysia;
- Dr. Alexandros Lavdas, Tenured Senior Researcher, Eurac Research, Bolzano, Italy;
- Prof. Dr. Noor Zaman Jhanjhi, School of Computer Science, Taylor's University, Malaysia.