Ideas from Space. Impact on Cities.

Whether you are a city leader, policymaker, urban planner, architect, innovator or an entrepreneur curious about the future of urban living and space-enabled solutions, join us 4 November at URB!Talks - a Smart City Expo World Congress Barcelona 2026 side event - to explore how satellites are quietly reshaping the cities we live in. From smarter movement to greener planning and stronger resilience, discover how space-powered intelligence is helping cities think, connect and serve people better. 

In this two-part event you will learn about the Business Applications and Space Solutions (BASS) in the European Space Agency's ACCESS programme, and meet potential partners to develop ideas on innovative space-enabled services. Please note that for the second-part workshop, Urban Resilience: Designing Future Cities Together, participation is limited to city authorities, and space and non-space businesses active in cyber/digital resilience, physical infrastructure resilience, or social resilience, and that element is invite-only.

Please note that Smart City Expo pass is required to attend - we have a limited number of complimentary passes available for registered participants who do not already have one. Please indicate in the registration form if you require a pass.

Why attend? 

Combined with contributions from city authorities, technology innovators, and space experts, the event will bring together voices that are rarely seen on the same stage. Whether you're looking for technical expertise, operational partners or end users, this is your chance to start building your network.  
 

Agenda 

URB!Talks Part One - open for registrations

09:30–09:40 | Opening Remarks: Welcome to URB!Talks 

09:40–11:00 | Keynote Sessions

11:00–11:30 | Coffee Break & Networking

11:30–12:00 | Keynote Sessions

12:00–12:05 | Closing Remarks: Can Satellites Help Build Better Cities?

URB!Talks Part Two - Urban Resilience: Designing Future Cities Together workshop (invitation only)

The Urban Resilience: Designing Future Cities Together workshop will take place 12:10 - 13:30, followed by light refreshments in the foyer.

This is a focused session providing an opportunity to explore satellite capabilities, commercial and strategic opportunities, and identify complementary expertise for potential collaboration in urban resilience. 
Participation is limited to interested city authorities, and space and non-space businesses active in cyber/digital resilience, physical infrastructure resilience, or social resilience. Confirmed participants will be contacted separately.

Find us

The session take place in room 4.2, CC4 area (first floor).
Go up to the first floor from any hall. Walk towards the end of Hall 3. The CC4 area is on the right.

Registration

Please note that this event is a side event of Smart City Expo World Congress Barcelona 2026, and a pass is required to attend. A limited number of complimentary passes are available for registered participants who do not already have one. Please indicate in the registration form if you require a pass.

If you are interested in attending the Designing Future Cities Together workshop, please note that you will need confirmation of your space to attend.

REGISTER NOW

European institutions, Member States, industry, cities, investors and innovators converged on the Belgian capital for Brussels Climate Week 2026 12-15 October, to shape the future of Europe’s climate-industrial transition. ESA’s Business Applications and Space Solutions (BASS) team were there to share the many ways space can be part of the solution for the impacts of climate change. 

The four-day event was built around five core themes: Tech & Innovation, Energy, Industry, Urban and Nature. It was an opportunity for the ESA BASS team to highlight the potential for space technology and data to mitigate across all these areas the impacts of climate change and to address environmental challenges.  

BASS Climate Resilience Lead Liz Barrow took to the stage on Nature day, to share examples of how space-enabled solutions are already having a positive impact, and importantly to announce the ESA BASS Environmental Crimes funding call, which is opening for applications next week. 

Ms Barrow said: “Climate change is impacting all sectors, from energy to agriculture, from fashion to sports, from cities to the oceans – for all these sectors, space can have a real, tangible role as part of the solution. 

“Coastal erosion, forestry and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities are some of the areas where our BASS projects are already making a big difference, while also supporting innovative European businesses, and helping them grow. 

“Environmental Crimes are an important focal point for us in the coming year, with our new funding call opening next week. We will be inviting applications covering a broad scope, ranging from poaching and illegal mining to corporate greenwashing fraud – I look forward to seeing what comes through and the meaningful impact that we will be able to achieve together with these projects.” 

There are many ways space data can be used both to both deter and intercept illegal activities but also to support good practise: 

• Detect and monitor: for example using AI on satellite imagery to spot early access roads for illegal mining or canopy gaps from unauthorised logging. 
• Track and trace: for example deploying satellite-connected tracking devices and geofencing to trace high-value commodities, regulated goods, or waste containers across international borders. 
• Verify: For example using authenticated satellite location tags to independently prove that an agricultural cargo was grown on legally compliant land, protecting a retailer from greenwashing penalties. 

To find out more about The Environmental Crimes funding call opening on 19 October, join us on 21 October for a webinar and Q&A. 

Today, 14 October, The European Space Agency and National Highways announced the signing of a Memorandum of Intent (MoI), aimed at supporting the development of innovative and sustainable space-based applications to improve safety on the roads. 

National Highways, the government company responsible for planning, designing, building, operating and maintaining England’s motorways and major A-roads, partnered with ESA’s Business Applications and Space Solutions (BASS) team, backing their Road and Traffic Safety funding call. Open until 27 November, the call is inviting applications relating to space-based products and services that can help reduce accidents with better traffic management, incident detection and predictive safety solutions.   

Maria Zaretskaya, Business Development & Partnerships Officer at ESA, said: “We are delighted to be working with National Highways to explore how innovative space-based applications can support the future of the UK’s road network. By combining expertise from the space and transport sectors, we aim to support the development and demonstration of space-based solutions that address real-world challenges in land transport and deliver benefits for the wider transport sector and society.” 

The use cases detailed as key areas of interest for new space-enabled solutions have been informed by industry representatives including National Highways. For example, solutions are needed to for the International Road Assessment Programme (IRAP) surveys, which are a way to assess how safe roads are – they rely on data about road context, observed traffic flows and infrastructure attributes to produce risk-based safety ratings. Space-based tools could significantly improve the cost-effectiveness, efficiency, frequency and precision of this data. 

Nick Joyce, Interim Chief Executive at National Highways said: “Safety is our number one priority, and we are exploring every route possible to keep drivers on our roads safe. Research and innovation play a crucial role in that. Our partnership with the European Space Agency enables us to embrace broader technology to improve road safety."
 
“Satellite communications and earth observation will help us make better proactive and preventative decisions which will improve our ability to identify risks on our roads and better understand the condition of our network.”