From climate urgency to AI, Smart City Expo Miami marks six years of reimagining urban life

From climate urgency to AI, Smart City Expo Miami marks six years of reimagining urban life


When people talk about Miami as a global city, the conversation often turns to real estate, nightlife, or the waves of new residents and companies setting up shop. But another story is quietly unfolding: Miami is becoming a proving ground for how cities adapt to the 21st century’s biggest challenges.

That role will be on display from October 6 to 8, when the sixth annual Smart City Expo Miami – RE:IMAGINE URBAN SPACES takes over Miami Dade College’s AI Lab. 

Over the years, the Expo has grown from a small gathering of enthusiasts into one of the leading smart city events in the Americas. This year, it will once again draw voices from more than 20 countries, putting Miami at the center of a debate that spans far beyond its borders: how do cities become more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient at a time of climate risk, rapid technological change, and shifting demographics?

For Bernardo Scheinkman, founder of Smart Cities Americas and curator of the Expo, the connection is obvious. “Miami is a laboratory for the challenges cities everywhere are facing,” he said. “Our cultural energy, our climate urgency, and our tech momentum all come together here. That’s why the conversations in Miami matter globally.”

The Expo represents an attempt to bring together unlikely allies – mayors and architects, technologists and sociologists, researchers and residents – to wrestle with practical questions of how cities should look and feel in the decades ahead. Sessions will explore governance in the digital age, the risks and rewards of artificial intelligence, and how urban design can center wellbeing as much as efficiency.

Some of the speakers are marquee names in the smart cities field, including Dr. Jonathan Reichental, author of Smart Cities for Dummies, and Raimundo Rodulfo, the CIO of Coral Gables, a Miami municipality that has become a global model for civic tech experimentation. Others will bring perspectives from places that rarely share a stage, from Poland to Saudi Arabia to Australia. That blend of local and global is by design.

Scheinkman argues that the urgency is what binds them. “The climate clock is ticking,” he said. “We only have one shot to design cities that are equitable, resilient, and livable. Smart City Expo Miami is about turning bold ideas into blueprints, and blueprints into real-world projects.”

Unlike many conferences that feel like isolated discussions, this one is organized with sustainability baked into its own operations. Following ISO 20121 standards, the Expo has committed to integrating sustainability principles into everything from logistics to program design.

It’s also a reflection of Miami’s shifting identity. Once written off as a place of flash without substance, the city is increasingly drawing international attention for its role in climate innovation and civic experimentation. The fact that Smart City Expo Miami has reached its fifth year suggests these conversations are not only resonating but gaining momentum.

The Smart City Expo Miami won’t end with tidy answers. But its value may be in how it reframes the questions. What does equity look like in an age of digital twins and AI-driven infrastructure? How can public spaces counteract the distortions of online life? What kind of urban design promotes not just economic growth, but actual happiness?

WHAT: Smart City Expo Miami – RE:IMAGINE URBAN SPACES

WHERE: Miami Dade College AI Lab, Wolfson Campus (300 NE 2nd Ave, Miami 33132)

WHEN: October 6-8, 2025

WHO: Public and private sector leaders, entrepreneurs, researchers, and engaged citizens

HOW: Learn more at smartcityexpomiami.com and register online

Photo above is from 2024’s Smart City Expo Miami.

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Riley Kaminer
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