Disrupting cities and the established

Nordic Urban Assembly was developed as a new urban meeting place where global thinking, urban politics, urban innovation, real estate development, digital knowledge and technological breakthroughs were to be raised to an overall level.

The idea was to investigate how we could connect some of the spaces between cities, buildings, people and technology as a basis for new innovation, and new tools for the development of sustainable cities and communities. 

We like to think that we see the world differently. We see changes in technology that force new agendas and future visions to the surface. NUDA’s ideas on “Disruptive Cities” examine the implications of the new generation’s digital influence on cities. If what we are now experiencing is the fourth industrial revolution, it will create major changes in cities, regions and countries. It already affects business, industry, the economy, and creates new needs that do not have an immediate solution available. Cities have become vulnerable to these changes. But it is also a source of great opportunities. Disruption is a disorder that changes urban structures, redefines social interaction, increases innovation and challenges the concept of loyalty. This requires attention.

We see the world as it is not, and experience a turning point where new technology disrupts cities. Many people talk about disruption, but what does it really mean? And how vulnerable are cities to disruption? How do we turn the disruption into a resource?
Through partnerships, holistic thinking and the breakdown of silos, visionary people, organizations, companies and leaders can show how disruption is handled, and how innovation in a new digital reality creates opportunities and, above all, renews the urban landscape in cities.

Leaders such as Rashik Parmar MBE, Carlo Ratti, Dr. Rachel Armstrong, Dr. Barbara Imhof, Nelly Ben Hayoun, Anna Rosling Rønnlund, Ayesha Khanna,  and more, introduced new tools in city development, and how they on a global level daily disrupt the established with the intent to push sustainability and technological innovation further for a better future.

We also gathered real estate and finance to discuss sustainable financing. Katharina Bramslev, Kjetil Gulbrandsen, Benjamin Powell, Dr. Sebastiano Lombardo and Thor Olaf Askjer shared their valuable insights.