The Time for Towns and Cities: Practical lessons for NZ Councils from the Barcelona Smart Cities World Congress
Tracks
Mokopuna: Neura
| Thursday, November 27, 2025 |
| 10:15 AM - 11:20 AM |
| Neura Breakout Room Mokopuna |
Overview
Mark Thomas, Smart Cities Council, NZ Lead
Grace de Leon, Innovation & Improvement Manager, Christchurch City Council
Speaker
Mark Thomas
Regional Director
Smart Cities Council
The Time for Towns and Cities: Practical lessons for NZ Councils from the Barcelona Smart Cities World Congress
Abstract
Smart, relevant lessons for New Zealand’s towns and cities from the recent Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona
* Practical ideas currently being implemented in comparably sized towns and cities
- Concrete examples in mobility, digital customer services, resilience and asset management that are relevant to New Zealand councils.
* What this means for NZ councils
- How to “right-size” these ideas for our funding, capability, and community context.
* A simple starting checklist
- One–two things smart council operators can do in the next 12–24 months to get tangible wins.
* Practical ideas currently being implemented in comparably sized towns and cities
- Concrete examples in mobility, digital customer services, resilience and asset management that are relevant to New Zealand councils.
* What this means for NZ councils
- How to “right-size” these ideas for our funding, capability, and community context.
* A simple starting checklist
- One–two things smart council operators can do in the next 12–24 months to get tangible wins.
Biography
Mark Thomas is Managing Director of Serviceworks, an urban technology company working in Australasia and parts of Asia. He is Regional Lead for the Smart Cities Council in New Zealand and Co-Chairs NZTech’s Sustainability Board.
Mark works with city authorities on urban mobility and wider smart strategies. He speaks internationally about how smarter approaches can more effectively tackle urban challenges. He initiated Mayor Wayne Brown’s new Innovation and Technology Alliance in Auckland and also led development of New Zealand’s first climate-technology roadmap to better use technology to cut emissions and capture climate opportunities.
