Cross-Disciplinary and Transnational Perspectives on Future Sustainable Smart Cities – dialogue on Youtube!

Strategic Research Collaborations for Global Challenges Between Sweden and UTokyo – Cross-Disciplinary and Transnational Perspectives on Future Sustainable Smart Cities.

By 2050, two-thirds of the global population will live in urban areas, posing a tremendous challenge for cities to accommodate a wide spectrum of human needs while meeting sustainability challenges. This dialogue between the University of Tokyo and academic and research institutions in Sweden, KTH Royal Institute of Technology (representing Stockholm Trio) and Vinnova aim to discuss different concepts of urbanisation in Europe and Asia and to envision future smart cities that can sustainably increase human wellbeing. This discourse will foster future collaboration between Japan and Sweden in research.

The University of Tokyo hosted the venue on Tokyo College YouTube Channel. We now welcome you to watch the recorded program!

PROGRAM

Welcome – Dr Marcin JARZEBSKI, Tokyo College, The University of Tokyo

Presentations:

  • Shaping a sustainable society through digital transformation by Prof. Karl Henrik JOHANSSON, Director of Digital Futures and Professor at the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, KTH Royal Institute of Technology. Karl H. Johansson is a Professor at the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden and Director of Digital Futures. His research focuses on networked control and cyber-physical systems used in transportation, energy, and automation networks.
  • Government agencies as change agents in sustainable urban transformation by Mr Lars FRIBERG, Climate strategist, Vinnova. Mr Lars Friberg works as a climate strategist in Vinnova’s sustainability team and as country manager for Vinnova’s collaboration with Japan. He has dedicated his professional life to contributing to building a more sustainable and just world and addressing the global challenge of climate change.
  • From grey compact to green disperse: Future of urban-rural mixed landscapes in the periphery of Asian cities by Prof. Makoto YOKOHARI, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo. Dr Makoto Yokohari is a professor in the Department of Urban Engineering and the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science (GPSS) at the University of Tokyo. His academic interests include urban planning, landscape planning, and landscape ecology.
  • Raising a smart nation: A reflection from SEA countries by Dr Rosita SAMSUDIN, Tokyo College, The University of Tokyo. Dr Rosita Samsudin is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Tokyo College, the University of Tokyo. She holds a PhD degree in Architecture from the National University of Singapore. Her research centres around the issues of nature and human well-being in cities.

Discussion

More news

City of Stockholm innovation director wins award for industrial collaboration

11/04/2025

Karin Ekdahl Wästberg, the Director of Innovation for the City of Stockholm, has been awarded...

Connecting Minds, Shaping Digital Futures: Highlights from Open Research Day 2025

10/04/2025

On April 9, 2025, the Digital Futures Open Research Day brought together a vibrant community...

Francesca Larosa co-authors landmark nature sustainability piece on “Earth Alignment” for AI

07/04/2025

A new opinion piece co-authored by Digital Futures postdoctoral researcher Francesca Larosa was published on 28 March in Nature Sustainability,...

Bridging AI, Earth Observation, and Urban Sustainability: Stefanos Georganos’ journey from Digital Futures to Karlstad University

03/04/2025

How can Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Earth Observation (EO) contribute to more accurate urban population...