Smart cities and the future. Without fear and rhetoric. A lively debate.

Imagine a July morning in Milan. Milan, a thousand degrees Celsius, a burning metropolis, and burning also because of its smartness: the air conditioning and more, the AI ​​that powers everything but which, to move, requires engines more energy-hungry than trucks on the highway, electric cars, yes, but which, with each charge, consume as much energy as they give off (former mayor Gabriele Albertini logically reminded us of this on Candide). Milan swept by hurricanes, Milan this morning as clear as it was in spring. Our world is in flux. How much intelligence does it take, how much faith in a future made better by idea-driven technologies is necessary to transform our cities, eager for change, into true Smart Cities, cities of the future? How can we bring the future—which we usually imagine confined to universities or big tech companies—into our present?

Imagine a July morning asking this question, tossing out ideas but also offering concrete examples, at an event at Il Foglio , on Thursday, July 10, in the Sala delle Colonne at Banco BPM's headquarters in Milan. With our usual optimism guided by reason and good reason, we titled it " Smart City Italy 2025 - Intelligent cities, and without fear ." A title in which the first and last words, smart and fear, indicate a path.

Never before in the last two years, with the explosion of AI's use in every aspect of life, has the promise of becoming "smart" been accompanied by fear : fear of AI stealing our jobs, controlling our minds, our health, and our bank accounts, even deciding traffic flow and train schedules, creating or falsifying news. Fears of algorithms, science, and data management, however, can be transformed into "possible revolutions" that help our cities become smarter and more livable: from sustainability to transportation, from glass recycling to urban planning designed and programmed through tools that collect data that was once impossible to manage. From climate impact to sustainable construction. Finally (finalize? In reality, it's the beginning and goal of everything) to quality of life, to the social integration of new and existing citizens. Contrary to what is often said by self-described critics of innovation, who consider it a threat to humankind. Instead, “smart” cities and a better social fabric go hand in hand.

All of this was discussed by the attendees at the Foglio event, welcomed by host Umberto Ambrosoli , president of the BPM Foundation and Banca Aletti, who deliberately emphasized, regarding his banking model: "For us, proximity is a choice, a model of how to be a bank. From this perspective, I believe that a smart city must accommodate the biodiversity of banking that is necessary to ensure competition and a diverse offering for customers. The community banking model that inspires us is centered on proximity. Being present: in neighborhoods and in the provinces, in relationships with local POIs, families, and local institutions."

The complete list of speakers can be found here , along with a video recording of the entire morning. There were three rectors from Milanese universities—Milan is one of the cities with the highest student populations in Europe: this is what a city of knowledge is built on—there were public administrators grappling with the challenging implementation of transformations such as the necessary digitalization of services; there were urban planners and managers from public and private companies involved in mobility. The discussion focused on how digitalization—from the digital twins essential for simulating and interpreting the needs and behaviors of complex systems, such as cities and territories, but also communication interfaces—can change all human activities for the better and in a non-threatening way.

All of this has been discussed with a deliberately, but not naively, optimistic tone : there's no need to fear the power of science and technology to solve problems. But there's also been talk, and rightly so, of the difficulties our country faces on the road to innovation. Despite all of Italy's renowned excellence, our country doesn't rank highly in the rankings of the best universities, nor in industrial patents, nor in manufacturing innovation, where Italy actually lags behind. As Fiera Milano President Carlo Bonomi, who enjoys a privileged vantage point on global economic systems, pointed out, reeling off worrying numbers: "Both in public administration and in private initiatives, the first thing we need is called 'governance'," he said. "Without clear 15-year plans and the ability to implement them immediately, even the most decisive innovations are destined to remain a dead letter." How much commitment and optimism does it take to transform our present into the Smart Cities of the future?

More on these topics: