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We are delighted to join the BABLE community. Youth Refugees United for Development (YRUD) is a refugee-led, community-based organization operating in Nakivale Refugee Settlement, Uganda. Founded by refugees, for refugees and host communities, YRUD was created from the belief that displacement should never define people's future. Instead, it should become an opportunity to build resilience, dignity, innovation, and sustainable development. Nakivale Refugee Settlement, one of Africa's oldest and largest refugee settlements, is home to more than 190,000 refugees from different countries. While the community is rich in diversity, skills, and resilience, it continues to face significant challenges, including limited access to clean water, food insecurity, youth unemployment, environmental degradation, inadequate waste management, climate change, and limited access to technical skills, innovation, and sustainable economic opportunities. Like many refugee-led organizations, we also face financial and technical challenges that limit our ability to expand community-driven solutions. At YRUD, we believe that sustainable change begins within the community. Our mission is to strengthen self-reliance by promoting sustainable livelihoods, WASH, environmental protection, climate resilience, circular economy, renewable energy, youth and women empowerment, and community-led innovation. Through these efforts, we aim to reduce dependency on humanitarian aid while creating lasting opportunities for refugee and host communities. One example of this vision is our Zero Waste Circular Economy Project , which integrates sustainable water access, aquaculture, poultry farming, permaculture, compost management, and practical skills training into a single system that creates livelihoods while protecting natural resources. We joined BABLE because we believe that the most effective solutions are built through collaboration, knowledge sharing, and innovation. We look forward to learning from the experiences of others, sharing our own journey, and connecting with organizations, cities, researchers, companies, and development partners committed to building smarter, more sustainable, and inclusive communities. We are honoured to be part of this inspiring network and look forward to meaningful connections and collaborations.
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We are delighted to join the BABLE community. Youth Refugees United for Development (YRUD) is a refugee-led, community-based organization operating in Nakivale Refugee Settlement, Uganda. Founded by refugees, for refugees and host communities, YRUD was created from the belief that displacement should never define people's future. Instead, it should become an opportunity to build resilience, dignity, innovation, and sustainable development. Nakivale Refugee Settlement, one of Africa's oldest and largest refugee settlements, is home to more than 190,000 refugees from different countries. While the community is rich in diversity, skills, and resilience, it continues to face significant challenges, including limited access to clean water, food insecurity, youth unemployment, environmental degradation, inadequate waste management, climate change, and limited access to technical skills, innovation, and sustainable economic opportunities. Like many refugee-led organizations, we also face financial and technical challenges that limit our ability to expand community-driven solutions. At YRUD, we believe that sustainable change begins within the community. Our mission is to strengthen self-reliance by promoting sustainable livelihoods, WASH, environmental protection, climate resilience, circular economy, renewable energy, youth and women empowerment, and community-led innovation. Through these efforts, we aim to reduce dependency on humanitarian aid while creating lasting opportunities for refugee and host communities. One example of this vision is our Zero Waste Circular Economy Project , which integrates sustainable water access, aquaculture, poultry farming, permaculture, compost management, and practical skills training into a single system that creates livelihoods while protecting natural resources. We joined BABLE because we believe that the most effective solutions are built through collaboration, knowledge sharing, and innovation. We look forward to learning from the experiences of others, sharing our own journey, and connecting with organizations, cities, researchers, companies, and development partners committed to building smarter, more sustainable, and inclusive communities. We are honoured to be part of this inspiring network and look forward to meaningful connections and collaborations.
Podcast episode
How does one of the fastest growing cities in the United States keep improving its services without simply hiring more people? In this episode, we speak with Paul Grimes , City Manager, and Brandon Opiela , Chief Data and AI Officer, both of the City of McKinney , Texas, USA, about the answer they have landed on: reforming the way work gets done. We explore McKinney's High Performance Organisation culture, which networks talent across teams and pushes decision making down to whoever is closest to a problem. Paul explains why protecting space for staff to experiment is a leadership priority, while Brandon describes the results in practice: an internal innovation fund called Project Magpie, an Innovation Academy that teaches lean process thinking in plain language, and the data centralisation work that gives AI something trustworthy to build on. We also discuss the city's AI sandbox, where staff with no coding background build tools for their own departments. Listen to the episode on: - Spotify - Apple Podcasts - Amazon Music - YouTube Like our show? Remember to subscribe and rate it! Want to join us for an episode? Fill out the form on our Podcast Page.
Urban Future. The Better-Cities Event 2027 (UF27) will take place in Istanbul from 13 to 16 April 2027 , bringing together more than 2,000 attendees , 250 speakers , and 150 mayors and city leaders to
Podcast episode
In this episode, we cross the Atlantic to Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA, to explore how a city builds a more intentional innovation culture from the inside. We are joined by Ishu Gupta , Innovation and Data Strategy Lead for the City of Green Bay, who works at the intersection of change management, technology, and data inside the Mayor's Office. We look at why Green Bay is moving from solution-led innovation towards defining the problem first, his view of data as civic infrastructure, and the structures the city has built around it. We also touch on data-informed community engagement around public safety, procurement reform, and what separates a useful conversation about AI from the hype. To go deeper on the thinking behind this episode, Ishu has shared his own piece on why process comes before technology for city innovators. You can read it here: ishugupta.substack.com/p/for-city-innovators-process-before Listen to the episode on: - Spotify - Apple Podcasts - Amazon Music - YouTube Like our show? Remember to subscribe and rate it! Want to join us for an episode? Fill out the form on our Podcast Page .
Podcast episode
In this episode of Smart in the City – The BABLE Podcast, we head to Kyiv, Ukraine, to explore Mental Guard, a city-level mental health initiative embedded within the public education system. We are joined by Kateryna Mohylnytska , Head of the Mental Health Project and Chief Communications Officer of the Kyiv Digital Agency, Ukraine. Kateryna explains how Mental Guard moves schools from reaction to prevention, noticing early signals before they become a crisis. She walks us through its three pillars: early wellbeing assessment, rapid human response, and coordination through trusted digital tools. The conversation looks closely at how the city safeguards sensitive data, designs for trust, and co-creates with children, teachers, and psychologists. We also discuss what success looks like beyond numbers, the challenge of scaling without losing humanity, and practical advice for cities and companies that want to build similar support systems. Listen to the episode on: - Spotify - Apple Podcasts - Amazon Music - YouTube Like our show? Remember to subscribe and rate it! Want to join us for an episode? Fill out the form on our Podcast Page .
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Most procurement processes start by comparing controller prices. In practice, that comparison can be misleading. We've published a breakdown of what actually drives project costs in smart street lighting — from driver selection and gateway infrastructure to software licensing models and long-term technical support. The key insight: two projects with similar hardware prices can differ significantly in total cost of ownership. And two projects with different hardware prices can end up at the same cost per luminaire. We use a simple formula to make these comparisons more objective Full article on our website: ditra-solutions.com/insights/how-to-estimate-smart-street-lighting-control-system-cost
Podcast episode
Dans cet épisode francophone de Smart in the City – The BABLE Podcast, nous traversons l'Atlantique pour nous rendre à Montréal, la métropole francophone d'Amérique du Nord. Nous y recevons Natacha Beauchesne , commissaire au développement économique en charge de l'économie circulaire au sein du Service du développement économique de la Ville de Montréal , au Canada. Natacha nous explique comment Montréal aborde l'économie circulaire non pas comme une politique de gestion des déchets, mais comme un levier de transformation économique. Devenue en 2024 la deuxième ville au monde, après Munich, à se doter d'un rapport sur l'écart de circularité avec Circle Economy, Montréal a mesuré son point de départ : 3 % de circularité, avec un objectif de 17 % d'ici 2050. Nous abordons sa feuille de route co-construite avec le milieu des affaires, des initiatives concrètes comme Synergie Montréal, et ce qui rend une solution réellement attractive pour une grande ville. Listen to the episode on: - Spotify - Apple Podcasts - Amazon Music - YouTube Like our show? Remember to subscribe and rate it! Want to join us for an episode? Fill out the form on our Podcast Page.
Podcast episode
Taiwan's Yunlin County supplies one in every three vegetables and pigs on the nation's dining tables. Yet its transformation extends far beyond traditional agriculture. Join Hsieh Shu-ya, Deputy Magistrate of Yunlin County , Taiwan, as she reveals how Yunlin is reimagining rural innovation through smart technology, circular economy strategies, and inclusive design. From AI-powered crop predictions that help farmers make data-driven decisions to converting agricultural waste into high-value textiles and green energy, Yunlin demonstrates how infrastructure investment, strategic partnerships, and empathy-driven leadership can turn demographic challenges into economic renewal. Discover how a county once defined by farming is becoming a competitive Agri-Industrial-Commercial Tech City, attracting young entrepreneurs and positioning itself on the global stage whilst ensuring no one is left behind. Listen to the episode on: - Spotify - Apple Podcasts - Amazon Music - YouTube Like our show? Remember to subscribe and rate it! Want to join us for an episode? Fill out the form on our Podcast Page .
Podcast episode
Kansas City is not chasing AI hype. Instead, Andrew Ngui , Chief Digital Officer of Kansas City , Missouri, United States, is focused on the essential work that makes artificial intelligence functional in local government: aligning data, processes, and people. In this episode, we explore what lies beneath every successful AI implementation. Through Kansas City's work with the Bloomberg City Data Alliance and their 311 service redesign, Andrew reveals the real challenges facing city governments adopting AI. He challenges the sector's obsession with technological solutions and redirects attention to what truly matters: organisational change, staff readiness, and the psychological safety required for innovation to take root. We also discuss the risks often left unspoken: the unintended consequences of automation, the value of thinking time embedded in routine work, and why human-to-human connection should never be outsourced to machines. Andrew shares practical tools developed through the Gov AI Coalition to help cities move beyond pilots, and why meaningful work built on autonomy, mastery, and purpose is the real driver of transformation. A conversation about what it actually takes to implement AI responsibly in cities, and why the future belongs to those who think before they deploy. Listen to the episode on: - Spotify - Apple Podcasts - Amazon Music - YouTube Like our show? Remember to subscribe and rate it! Want to join us for an episode? Fill out the form on our Podcast Page.
Podcast episode
Michael Rech, Mayor of Folgaria, manages one of Italy's most dynamic Alpine municipalities. Located in the Dolomites, Folgaria welcomes 2 million visitors annually while maintaining a permanent population of just 3,000 residents spread across 33 villages. This creates a unique tension: balancing climate commitments with the realities of a tourism-dependent economy. In this episode, Michael explores how small mountain municipalities can turn climate goals into everyday action. He discusses practical strategies for energy efficiency in public buildings, innovative water management systems that respond to Folgaria's unique geography, and sustainable mobility solutions tailored to Alpine terrain. Throughout the conversation, Michael emphasises the importance of collaboration and long-term partnerships in overcoming resource constraints. The episode reveals how small municipalities can move beyond theoretical planning to deliver concrete results, even with limited budgets and administrative capacity. Listen to the episode on: - Spotify - Apple Podcasts - Amazon Music - YouTube Like our show? Remember to subscribe and rate it! Want to join us for an episode? Fill out the form on our Podcast Page.
Podcast episode
In this episode, recorded in collaboration with the Urban Future 2026 conference in Ljubljana, we travel to Vienna, Austria, to discuss practical climate action. Our guest, Johannes Lutter , Head of International Affairs and Strategic Partnerships at Urban Innovation Vienna , shares how the city implements its Smart Climate City Strategy. We explore the balance between climate protection and adaptation, highlighting initiatives like public cooling zones designed to combat urban heat and prevent social isolation for vulnerable residents. Johannes also outlines the massive challenge of transitioning 600,000 households from gas heating to renewable alternatives by 2040. Additionally, we look into how Vienna fosters co-creation through the Vienna Climate Teams and builds strategic partnerships with academia and the private sector to scale sustainable solutions across the urban landscape. Listen to the episode on: - Spotify - Apple Podcasts - Amazon Music - YouTube Like our show? Remember to subscribe and rate it! Want to join us for an episode? Fill out the form on our Podcast Page.