Announcing the Cities Summit at SXSW 2018

We’re pleased to announce the Cities Summit, a new convergence program for SXSW 2018.

As the world grows increasingly complex, cities have emerged as innovators, testing and developing new solutions to problems ranging from climate change, migration, automation, and more. The term smart cities has become synonymous for cities implementing new technologies, but truly smart cities are more than tech savvy. Cities are reflections of the people who live, work, and play within them. Our cities and public spaces are integral to the arts, creativity, culture, and democracy itself.

The more people we have envisioning the future of our cities brings more promise of building solutions that work for everyone. We invite all urbanists from the SXSW community - the storytellers, the entrepreneurs, the designers, the musicians, the fans, industries, government officials, and more, to create a dialogue about the opportunity and potential cities hold.

"Cities are on the front lines of change in our society," said City of Austin Mayor Steve Adler. "Cities are where the economic expansion, the new ideas, and the cultural advances happen, where we are making the necessary progress on climate change and where we show that inclusion and diversity are not burdens to tolerate but necessary ingredients for success and survival. Cities are not bubbles where we preserve the past. Cities are incubators of the future. There is nowhere this is more true than Austin, Texas, and that's why I am so thrilled that SXSW will be hosting a Cities Summit."

The Cities Summit will be accepting programming proposals through the SXSW PanelPicker, which opens Monday, June 26. We encourage you to be creative and think outside the box when entering your session idea. The Summit will include experimental programming formats and creative interventions that explore the cities of the future.

Learn more, get involved and plan your participation at sxsw.com/cities.