– According to some research, today 50 percent of the population lives in cities, and some estimates say that by 2030, 67 percent of people will live in cities. In Croatia, according to the census, 60 percent of people live in cities, and all mayors and administrations face a significant task of managing these unstoppable processes while also making life in cities as high-quality as possible – said Miodrag Šajatović, editor-in-chief of Lider, at the opening of the ninth Lider conference Smart cities.
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Holger Haibach, director of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation office for Croatia and Slovenia, initially stated that sustainable development is the focus and that cities today are overcrowded, causing infrastructure to suffer. He added that three goals must be respected in cities – the first is the right to information, the second is infrastructure and public services, and the third is sustainability and digitalization.
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Goran Težak from the company Lama initially stated that they have developed a solution based on blockchain technology that enables a connected system from which necessary information can be accessed at any time. He concluded that blockchain technology allows for solutions that can be self-sustaining.
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During the conference, we learned how quality management based on sustainable strategies, transparency, waste management, and smart mobility affect the improvement of quality of life and make life in Croatian cities safer and better.
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During the conference, on a panel, the mayor of Rijeka Marko Filipović, the mayor of Karlovac Damir Mandić, the mayor of Split Ivica Puljak, and the mayor of Zaprešić Željko Turk explained how to achieve sustainability through innovations and what projects they will implement in their cities.
