「Contactless （by default）」Barcelona Urban Design Talk: YouFab Global Creative Awards 2020

Known for its efforts in revolutionizing itself as a smart city, Barcelona has been consistently updating its urban environment from a variety of perspectives, including mobility, energy efficiency and environmental improvement. However, this year’s global pandemic has forced cities around the world, including Barcelona, to undergo major, destabilizing disruptions to everyday life. In the wake of these changes, how have our cities responded – and more importantly, how can we transform the future urban life for the better?

Hosted by the 2020 YouFab Global Creative Award and FabCafe Barcelona, this talk is part of this year’s YouFab theme “Contactless (by default)” – which zeroes in on the ubiquity of ‘contactless’ (by default!) experiences, but also the new innovations turning adversity into opportunity. In the context of the urban environment, we look to cities experts Pablo Valerio and Salvador Rueda to find out the ways in which technology and creativity can merge with the city, in a post-Covid era.

Renowned tech journalist Pablo Valerio is a regular contributor of several publications in the IT ecosystem, focusing on networks, IoT, security, mobile technology and smart cities. He will unravel the ways in which technology and cities can work together towards a smarter future. Meanwhile, urban planner and theorist Pablo Rueda, oft-hailed Barcelona’s father of ‘superblocks’ (superilla) and an ‘urban visionary’, will help to shine a light on the significance of community-building and mobility for future urban utopias. The special panel will be joined by physicist-turned-entrepreneur, FabCafe Barcelona CEO David Tena Vicente. 

The event has been organized by FabCafe Barcelona and the 2020 YouFab Global Creative Award, the global award that celebrates creative works and innovations stemming from powerful collaborations between digital and physical fabrication.