Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC) 2026 brought together cities, technology companies and urban experts to explore innovations in AI, mobility, housing and sustainable development. Drawing on discussions, award-winning projects and observations from the exhibition, New Polis examines emerging trends in urban development and the challenges of turning technological innovation into practical results.
Read MoreSCEWC 2026: Urban Innovation Meets the Realities of City Life
Energy & Investment Days 2026 brought five innovative companies to Novi Sad, presenting solutions for energy management, infrastructure, water engineering and business operations. Their projects demonstrate how energy innovation in Southeast Europe connects research, engineering and digital technologies with practical industrial needs.
Read MoreFrom Water Wells to Smart Grids: Energy Innovation in Southeast Europe
Urban regeneration in the Balkans is reshaping cities through municipal funding, European grants and private investment. Four projects in Sofia, Thessaloniki, Belgrade, and Athens show how urban value is created, who benefits, and who bears the long-term costs.
Read MoreUrban Regeneration in the Balkans: Who Pays, Who Benefits?
The Happy City Index 2026 ranks 250 cities using 64 indicators, but does it actually measure happiness? New Polis examines the methodology and compares the ranking with residents’ own assessments of urban life, revealing where the two perspectives align and where they diverge.
Read MoreHappy City Index 2026: What Does It Really Measure?
In conversation with MVRDV architect Dimitrije Milić, we explore what changes when carbon, density, ecology, and uncertainty are treated not as themes around architecture, but as material within the design process.
Read MoreBeyond Iconic Architecture: Dimitrije Milić on Designing with Consequence
Granada is positioning artificial intelligence as a key tool for urban innovation, with iQuantum providing a real-world environment to test, demonstrate and scale AI solutions for cities. In this partner interview, Vito Episcopo, Deputy Mayor of Granada, discusses the city’s AI strategy, its innovation ecosystem, and opportunities for collaboration between European cities.
Read MoreFrom Granada to Every European City: iQuantum, Built to Test and Scale Urban Innovation Across Europe
AI may seem weightless and digital, but its rapid expansion depends on increasingly resource-intensive infrastructure. Drawing on new research from UNU-INWEH and the IEA, this article looks beyond carbon emissions to explore how the AI boom is reshaping demand for energy, water and land, and why these pressures are becoming an issue for infrastructure planning.
Read MoreThe Environmental Impact of AI: Energy, Water and Land Behind the Digital Boom
Cycling is increasingly recognised as one of the most effective investments in sustainable urban mobility, yet cities across the Western Balkans continue to struggle with car dependency and limited cycling infrastructure. In this interview, one of Serbia's leading cycling advocates discusses the progress being made, the political and cultural barriers that remain, and why cycling infrastructure in the Western Balkans is essential for healthier, more liveable and more resilient cities.
Read MoreCycling Infrastructure in the Western Balkans: Why Streets Must Work for People, Not Cars
A county-level smart city project in China saw six of its seven sub-projects become idle despite significant public investment. This case study explores how planning gaps, fragmented data systems and governance challenges can undermine even the most ambitious digital infrastructure projects.
Read MoreWhy Smart City Projects Fail: Lessons from an 80-Million-Yuan Digital Infrastructure Project
Can technology help prevent traffic accidents before they happen? Drawing on the concept of Vehicle-Road-Cloud Integration, this article explores how connected vehicles, smart roads and cloud-based management systems could reshape the future of road safety and intelligent mobility.
Read MoreVehicle-Road-Cloud Integration: Can Smart Infrastructure Prevent Traffic Accidents?