This year’s Expo is a White House Summit for Democracy Year of Action event featuring 50+ city and government officials

(Black PR Wire) Miami, FL. – Fira de Barcelona and Smart City Expo World Congress, the world’s leading summit for cities and smart urban solutions, are partnering with the African American Mayors Association, the National League of Cities, Miami-Dade County Mayor, Daniella Levine Cava, and Miami Mayor and U.S. Conference of Mayors President, Francis X. Suarez, to host Smart City Expo USA from September 14-15, 2022 at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Alongside the expo, Mayor Suarez will host the U.S. Conference of Mayors Fall Leadership Meeting in Miami, FL from September 15-18, 2022.

With U.S. cities and states receiving hundreds of millions of dollars for roads, bridges, transit, rail, electric vehicle charging stations, power grids, waste and water infrastructure, broadband, and more from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Smart City Expo USA is the largest and most high-profile event for cities to address historic inequities through technology.

Smart City Expo USA is committed to redefining “smart” cities as communities that have no homelessness, hunger, or poverty. Smart cities have access to quality healthcare, broadband, housing, energy, education, clean air and water, transportation, public safety, the ballot box, and an opportunity to build generational wealth. These are the elements of a free and functioning democracy.

“I am honored to serve as the Chairperson of Smart City Expo USA and to convene global leaders on the importance of redefining “smart cities”, particularly here in the United States where historically underserved communities now have the chance to leapfrog into the future through the equitable and ethical use of blockchain, AI, big data, and other frontier technologies,” said Hardie Davis, Jr., Mayor, City of Augusta and Chair, Smart City Expo USA.

“Miami-Dade is laying the foundation to build equitable and sustainable Smart City solutions for future-ready communities where all residents have access to the resources they need to prosper and thrive," said Daniella Levine Cava, Mayor, Miami-Dade County. "We welcome Smart City Expo USA and leaders from across the globe to build together a new era of smart cities where equity and inclusion are the driving engines for infrastructure, entrepreneurship, technology, and innovation.”

“Miami is leading the way on building an inclusive tech and innovation economy and we are so pleased to be partnering with Fira de Barcelona to host Smart City Expo USA, the country’s leading event for cities, in September,” said Francis X. Suarez, Mayor, City of Miami and President, U.S. Conference of Mayors. “Every company today—from cars and banks to governments—is now a tech company and we look forward to collaborating with government officials, corporations, VCs, NGOs, and entrepreneurs on issues of blockchain and cryptocurrency, urban air mobility, electrification, AI/edge technology, big data, climate resiliency, education equity, the future of work, functional zero for chronic homelessness, and other key areas to build cities of tomorrow, today.”

Miami is on an accelerated path to become a model for smart cities across the country and we are proud that it has counted on Fira de Barcelona to contribute to its transformation as we have already done with other cities around the world,” said Ricard Zapatero, International Business Director, Fira de Barcelona.

Leading global government officials, CEOs, NGOs, innovators, and entrepreneurs seeking to protect critical infrastructure, increase global competitiveness, and significantly reduce the country’s racial wealth and equity gap, will focus on equity-centered AI, predictive analytics, sensors, heat maps, broadband, the cloud, edge computing, blockchain, the metaverse, and open data. They will look to build resilience against the here and now and invisible 21st century threats of pandemics, cyberattacks, climate change, and as sociologist and Associate Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University, Dr. Ruha Benjamin, states, the “New Jim Code”.

"To put it simply, smart cities are the future of our nation. They bring forth the promise of a more connected, more sustainable, and more efficient future where technology is harnessed to improve each sector of our civil society and uplift all our communities, regardless of zip code or income-level. Now, in particular, as the federal government makes bold investments in infrastructure projects across the nation, we must work to ensure that smart infrastructure is put in place to serve as the backbone for smart city services that will finally transport us into the 21st century. This includes ensuring that smart sensors, 5G, and blockchain technology is imbedded at the onset of new projects, rather than as an afterthought,” said Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke, Co-Founder and Co-Chair, Congressional Smart Cities Caucus.

Key Reactions to Smart City Expo

“At the Export-Import Bank of the United States, we are committed to fostering global competitiveness through U.S. exports in clean energy, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, biotech and biomedical, and climate-friendly technologies, to name a few. I look forward to further deepening our engagement with local and state officials and to supporting the efforts of the brilliant innovators and entrepreneurs at Smart City Expo USA,” said Reta Jo Lewis, President and Chair, Export-Import Bank of the United States.

“Smart City Expo USA is ensuring the most diverse voices are at the table to build an inclusive and sustainable tomorrow. We are thrilled to convene visionary entrepreneurs and leading government officials ready to deploy billions of dollars in federal funds towards next-gen infrastructure and technology to build resiliency and efficiencies, bridge racial wealth, equity, and opportunity gaps, upskill communities, advance global competitiveness, and future proof cities against historic inequities,” said Aarti Tandon, CEO, Smart City Expo USA.

“As President of the African American Mayors Association, I agree with Smart City Expo USA that cities are not “smart” if there is homelessness, hunger, or poverty,” said Frank Scott, Jr., Mayor, City of Little Rock and President, African American Mayors Association. “Armed with ARP and IIJA funds, I look forward to engaging with next-gen innovators and entrepreneurs who can assist us in addressing climate violence, increasing education equity, advancing new mobility options, and bring our communities into the 21st century.”

“The National League of Cities is proud to partner with Smart City Expo USA. With rural areas and urban cities set to receive close to $1T for infrastructure, and the country at a true inflection point around equity, race, and justice, the future of work, health, housing, climate change, education, AI, security, urban planning, and ESG investments, Smart City Expo USA is committed to helping cities of all sizes address historic inequities while preparing them for tomorrow.” Vince Williams, Mayor, Union City and President, National League of Cities.

“The State Department is committed to placing democracy renewal at the heart of the Administration’s Summit for Democracy Year of Action. Democracy renewal not only means protecting democratic institutions or access to the ballot box, but also uplifting underserved communities, creating equitable and sustainable development, fostering new economic opportunity, and developing safe public spaces. The Department is excited to connect with mayors, governors, businesses, and civil society who will attend Smart City Expo USA and discuss innovative solutions that will strengthen democracy renewal efforts locally and globally,” said Danny Ricchetti, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, Department of State.

Additional confirmed speakers include: Gabe Amo, Special Assistant to the President; Deputy Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, The White House; Michael Dunaway, Associate Director for Innovation, Smart & Connected Systems Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST); Dan Gelber, Mayor, City of Miami Beach; Vi Lyles, Mayor, City of Charlotte; Michael Hancock, Mayor, City of Denver; Steven Reed, Mayor, City of Montgomery; Tishaura Jones, Mayor, City of St. Louis; Justin Bibb, Mayor, City of Cleveland; Aftab Pureval, Mayor, City of Cincinnati; Chokwe Lumumba, Mayor, City of Jackson; Victoria Woodards, Mayor, City of Tacoma; Jorge Elorza, Mayor, City of Providence; Michael Nutter, Former Mayor, City of Philadelphia; Steve Benjamin, Former Mayor, City of Columbia; Ger Baron, CTO, City of Amsterdam; Miguel Sangalang, Executive Director, LA Lights; Joshua Edmonds, Director of Digital Inclusion, City of Detroit; Margaret Brisbane, CIO, Miami-Dade County; Mark Wheeler, CIO, City of Philadelphia; Jason Sankey, CIO, City of Atlanta; Grace Simrall, Chief of Civic Innovation and Technology, City of Louisville; Kimberly LaGrue, CIO, City of New Orleans; Kim Desmond, Chief Race and Equity Officer, City of San Diego; John Paul Farmer, President, WeLink Cities; Lilian Coral, Director, National Strategy + Tech Innovation, Knight Foundation; Stephanie Young, Executive Director, When We all Vote; Jordan Justus, CEO, Automotus; Ashley Bell, CEO, Ready Life; and Kimberly Driggins, Executive Director, Washington Housing Conservancy. 

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About Smart City Expo USA

Smart City Expo USA (SCEUSA) is the country’s leading event for cities. Its leadership has convened Presidents, Ministers, 50+ global mayors, and leading CEOs to ensure technologies of tomorrow are futureproofing our cities against historic inequities of today. SCEUSA is the only U.S. edition of the world’s leading conference and expo on smart cities and smart urban solutions, Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC).

About Smart City Expo World Congress

Smart City Expo World Congress is the world’s leading summit on Smart Cities and smart urban solutions. On its last edition, SCEWC gathered 700 cities worldwide as well as 844 exhibitors, 400 speakers and over 21,000 attendees from 1,460 countries. The international impact of the show has grown with regional events in Mérida (México), Shanghai (China), Doha (Qatar), Curitiba (Brazil), Istanbul (Turkey), Kyoto (Japan), and Buenos Aires (Argentina) further consolidating Smart City Expo as the international leading trade show and conference in the urban innovation area and drawing more attendees and interest toward the global event held in November in Barcelona every year.

About Fira de Barcelona

Fira de Barcelona is one of the most important trade fair institutions in Europe and the Spanish market leader and its international prestige is closely linked to the Barcelona brand, a city with over a century of trade fair tradition. It hosts over 150 trade shows, congresses, and corporate events per year with 30,000 exhibitors and receives 2.5 million visitors from over 200 countries and territories. Its annual economic contribution to the city of Barcelona and its surroundings is estimated at over 2,600 million Euros and also brings added social and public value.