The Final Conference of the POCACITO project on “Post-carbon Cities of tomorrow – Building an urban long term vision together”, took place on 21 October 2016 at CEPS in Brussels. The main objective of the conference was to present the key outputs and findings of POCACITO to local public institutions, European institutions, regional stakeholders and representatives from the research field, business environment and civil society. In the same time, the event officially introduced the 2050 EU post-carbon cities roadmap as a working document and gathered feedback and suggestions from the participants and stakeholders invited.
The Final Conference highlighted a creative approach for dissemination and participant engagement. The messages of the sessions drew attention to the need for an integrated approach to urban development to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in particular concerning urban planning of infrastructures and land use, using the opportunities provided by Information and Communication Technology. The emphasis had been placed on POCACITO’s successful adaptation of visioning and backcasting exercises as powerful tools to engage stakeholders and increase their awareness and participation in the steps towards a post carbon future.
To create cross-sectoral synergies and effective dissemination of knowledge, CEPS had invited stakeholders from research institutes, academia, journalists, associations, EU institutions, city authorities, companies, think-tanks and governmental representatives. The format of the conference was designed to reflect dynamism and exchange of ideas over the project findings with the aid of a moderator for discussions and group activities.
The innovative layout of the event was further strengthened by creating the opportunity for participants to see in practical terms what the future of urban transport could look like. For this, the organizers have brought in a local electric car-sharing initiative that would illustrate the mobility and transport future outlook in Brussels while allowing participants a unique test-drive of some of their newest urban electric cars.
The proceedings of the conference are now available for download!
