Shaping cities of well-being at the Ljubljana Forum on Future Cities
Fifteen years of foresight-driven collaboration show how cities can balance innovation, sustainability, and well-being while translating ideas into concrete projects.
As the world’s cities face growing challenges from climate change, rapid urbanization, and technological transformation (read the previous post on the cities of tomorrow here), understanding how to translate visions into action becomes crucial. Cities are not only centers of human activity but also living systems where collaboration, sustainability, and innovation converge. From exploring imaginative visions of future cities to examining real-world policies, frameworks, and strategies, it is clear that shaping urban futures requires more than ideas: it requires arenas where vision, policy, and practice can meet to lead to concrete action.
The Ljubljana Forum on the Futures of Cities, at its 15th edition in 2025, knows this well and has emerged as one such arena, bringing together urban planners, futurists, policymakers, businesses, and civil society to explore how cities can anticipate change and respond to complex challenges. Over its fifteen editions, the Forum has explored strategies for building sustainable, inclusive, and resilient cities, providing a space to connect foresight with planning and project development.
Launched in 2011 by Blaž Golob, Director of the GoForeSight Institute and of the Slovenia Node of The Millennium Project and co-founder of the Foresight Europe Network, and by Miran Gajšek, Chief Urban Planner of the City of Ljubljana, the Ljubljana Forum has established itself as a unique international platform for urban debate and long-term thinking. “Fifteen years ago,” says Golob (2025), “the Ljubljana Forum began as a bold experiment, a meeting of minds envisioning how cities could become smarter, greener, and more humane. Today, it stands as a mature European platform that connects vision with action.”
During the event, I had the opportunity to interview Blaž Golob, who shared his reflections on the 15 editions. He explained that the original inspiration for launching the Forum came from his long-standing involvement in the foresight community. While cities have always planned their futures through urban design and master plans, they rarely engaged in a structured dialogue with the foresight community. This gap became the main trigger for the creation of the first Ljubljana Forum on the Future of Cities in 2011, at a time when the concept of smart city was only beginning to take shape. The idea was to create a space where urban planners and foresight experts could work together on long-term urban development. At the core of the forum lies the belief that even when national politics struggle, cities remain on the front line: delivering essential services, safeguarding quality of life, and creating opportunities for work, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
The Forum serves as a platform to help cities anticipate the future, combining foresight methodologies with practical planning processes. Golob highlights Ljubljana’s strategic location at the crossroads of three EU macro-regions—the Alpine, Adriatic-Ionian, and Danube areas—making it a hub of European connectivity. Named European Green Capital in 2016 under Mayor Zoran Janković, the city demonstrated that environmental vision and urban transformation can go hand in hand. “As a proud citizen of Ljubljana, I witnessed this change firsthand,” Golob reflects. “Today, Ljubljana is not only admired for its beauty but also stands as a living example of how thoughtful planning and local action can create a City of Well-Being.”
Reflecting on the impact of the event over the years, Golob emphasizes its purpose-driven nature. The Ljubljana Forum was conceived not only as a place for discussion, but also as a platform that moves from vision to planning, from strategy to projects. The Forum’s format carefully selects participants from different sectors, disciplines, and generations to foster genuine exchange. “It inspired related initiatives in Zagreb, Samos, Bangalore, Istanbul, and Dubai,” Golob says, “proving that the Ljubljana model can travel globally while keeping its human dimension.” This multi-stakeholder approach has led directly to the development of projects with a total value exceeding 350 million euros, demonstrating a tangible link between foresight, policy, and implementation. In addition to futurists, urban planners, mayors, and city administrations, the Forum consistently involves companies from sectors such as information technology, sustainable development, water management, sports facilities, and energy efficiency. Financial institutions also play a key role, with the European Investment Bank participating as a partner in all fifteen editions, alongside other banks and investment bodies in specific years. The presence of non-governmental organizations, which bring the perspective of civil society into the discussion, is equally important. As Golob points out, businesses and public authorities must take citizens’ views into account when they design smart city solutions. Contributions from NGOs working on e-participation and civic engagement help highlight how smart cities function in reality, from the standpoint of those who live in them. This interaction challenges purely technology-driven approaches and reinforces the need for inclusive urban development.
Over its 15-year history, the Ljubljana Forum has contributed to shaping how the future of cities is discussed and addressed through collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and innovative project development (Ljubljana Forum, 2024). Since its inaugural edition (2011), which focused on global challenges, European city identities, and smart industry solutions, the Forum has fostered regional cooperation and foresight strategies, aligned with initiatives such as the EU Danube Strategy. Subsequent editions built on this foundation by addressing critical urban challenges and showcasing innovative practices. For instance, the 2012 Forum on energy efficiency and “being always on-line” emphasized smart green technologies, while the 2013 edition focused on managing water and transport in the Danube region and introduced an award for visionary infrastructural projects. In 2014, leadership lessons from cities such as Bilbao, Ljubljana, and San Sebastian highlighted transformative urban practices, while 2015 focused on empowering cities and people, launching a Smart City Platform to support city leaders and communities. The 2016 edition celebrated Ljubljana’s European Green Capital achievements, emphasizing green growth and digital democracy, while 2017 expanded the Forum’s global reach through Silk Road collaborations. In 2018, Europe–Asia cooperation took center stage with discussions on blockchain and digital technologies for smart cities, followed by a focus on industry solutions and public–private partnerships in 2019.
The 2020 anniversary edition of the Forum reflected on a decade of fostering sustainable urban development, setting the stage for foresight-driven discussions in 2021, which explored long-term city planning toward 2030. In 2022, the Forum addressed urban fragility and resilience in the face of multiple challenges, with a particular focus on digital transformation and sustainability. By 2023, attention shifted to achieving climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030, emphasizing integrative urban models and financial strategies. Most recently, the 2024 edition explored the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI), highlighting data-driven innovation, cross-sector collaboration, and citizen-centric growth as key enablers of resilient and future-ready cities. The latest edition (2025) focused on shaping cities of well-being for the future, discussing cities as negotiators thriving in Europe and globally by 2040, municipalities’ visions, and Gen Z perspectives, leading to the definition of a Manifesto for future cities. Through this evolving agenda, reflecting the progression of the most urgent topics related to future cities, the Ljubljana Forum continues to promote sustainable, inclusive, and smart urban development at international level.
Cities face a complex decade ahead, in which resilience must be balanced with inclusion and technological advancement with humanity. Managing energy transitions, digital ethics, and housing affordability while keeping well-being as the ultimate measure of success is a defining challenge for urban futures. Golob explains that AI, clean energy, and data ecosystems can become powerful enablers of equity if governed wisely. He emphasizes that Europe has a responsibility to lead by example by treating technology as a public good. “Our guiding belief is that innovation must accelerate without erasing the human dimension,” he says, and describes a City of Well-Being as one that “nurtures health, safety, learning, participation, and belonging, embedding sustainability, design, and cultural identity while grounding foresight in good planning today.” Cooperative models, he adds, demonstrate how creativity, innovation, and solidarity can thrive together. This holistic approach underpins the Forum’s decision, in its 15th edition, to focus on well-being after years of exploring smart and green city paradigms. Every urban transformation should improve quality of life by integrating health, inclusion, sustainability, and culture into a shared vision of the city of the future.
Well-being can be assessed through global benchmarks such as the OECD Better Life Index, the UN-Habitat City Prosperity Index, and European Green Capital metrics—the same framework that guided Ljubljana’s transformation and its designation as European Green Capital in 2016. Golob highlights that well-being also becomes tangible through recreation, mobility, and public space: parks, sports facilities, and inclusive urban design make cities healthier, more connected, and more alive. The newly opened Ilirija Citadel in Ljubljana, designed by architect Peter Lorenz and recipient of the Ljubljana Forum 2025 Award, exemplifies this balance between function, beauty, and inclusion, showing how architecture can serve the public good. At the same time, reducing inequality remains essential. European cities must work toward zero poverty, zero hunger, and zero exclusion, recognizing that innovation and equality are mutually reinforcing. The City of Well-Being advances high-speed performance and social justice together, ensuring that progress is shared across generations. Finally, Golob calls on young leaders to be active, curious, and collaborative, combining technological skills with civic empathy to design cities that are not only smart but also kind.
Golob sees the future of cities as a progression through different stages. At the foundation lies safety: a city must provide peace and security as a basic condition. Only then can it ensure good living and working environments, followed by sustainability supported by smart technologies. At a higher level lies the city of well-being, one that fosters culture, sports, recreation, and strong social ties. However, these aspirations must be grounded in reality. Cities face very different challenges depending on their geopolitical and social contexts. The discussion at Forum 2025, including the participation of the Mayor of Sarajevo, reminded participants of these differences. As Golob notes, Sarajevo itself was only thirty years ago in a situation comparable to today’s conflict zones, illustrating both the fragility of urban futures and the possibility of recovery and transformation.
Looking further ahead, Golob imagines the ideal city of 2045 as a fully realized city of well-being, where human, natural, and digital systems coexist harmoniously. This city is balanced through coherent governance that integrates planning, policy, and foresight; inclusive design that ensures equal access to housing, mobility, culture, and health; and an anticipatory vision that uses data and foresight to guide long-term resilience. By 2045, cities will move from being smart to being wise, becoming sustainable, empathetic, and foresight-driven. Technology will serve citizens, not dominate them, and every person will have access to basic needs—no poverty, no hunger, and full dignity—while innovation and high-speed performance drive entrepreneurs and strengthen Europe’s competitiveness. This balance between excellence and empathy, between the speed of progress and the depth of care, defines the European city of the future.
After fifteen years, the Ljubljana Forum on the Future of Cities functions as an annual platform that connects knowledge and experience in city governance with foresight and practical cooperation. Alongside discussions on infrastructure and technology, it emphasizes social ties, shared spaces, and inclusive governance as key elements of urban development. As the Ljubljana Forum has evolved, its focus has gradually shifted from discussing urban challenges to actively structuring how cities can anticipate and navigate change. This evolution became particularly visible in the 2025 edition, where well-being, foresight, and implementation were brought together through concrete methodologies and collective reflection. However, its mission remains clear: “to build cities that anticipate change, act coherently, and place human well-being at their core.”
To better understand how these ideas translate into shared visions and actionable pathways, the next post will examine the 2025 Forum’s key outputs and the results of its Three Horizons foresight exercise that informed the Ljubljana Forum Manifesto for Future Cities launched at the end. Don’t miss it!