Vienna in the international spotlight: Mayor forum for future projects!

Vienna in the international spotlight: Mayor forum for future projects!

Wien, Österreich - On Thursday, July 3, 2025, the “World Cities Summit Mayors Forum” took place in Vienna. Over 100 mayors from all over the world, including representatives from cities such as Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and Zhenjiang in China, met in the Austrian capital to exchange ideas about sustainable urban development. Mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) warmly welcomed all participants and emphasized the significant role of cities in creating a sustainable future. He asked those present to inspire each other and present specific solutions to counter the challenges of urbanization. According to Meinzirk.at Vienna was chosen as the venue to continue the discussions that started in 2022.

Central topics treated by the forum such as climate goals, residential construction and future planning. Vienna has already made a remarkable name here: the city was able to reduce its CO₂ emissions per capita by almost 40 percent. Almost two thirds of the Viennese population live in a funded or local residential building, which indicates a careful housing policy. This is particularly important, because according to BNE-Portal.de already live over half of the world's population in cities, and by 2030 this proportion could increase.

The challenges of urbanization

The urban way of life has many advantages: access to shops, cultural offers and services. But the challenges should not be underestimated. Repressing, rising rental prices and unequal living conditions are major problems in both Austria and internationally. In development regions, around 30 percent of city dwellers lived in slums in 2014. Solutions have to be found everywhere to increase the quality of life of the city population and to minimize environmental damage. Urbanization also contributes to high surface consumption and increasing CO₂ emissions, so that innovative approaches are required how urban development can be designed in the future.

Citizens' participation and Educative programs are central points for achieving these goals. Municipalities can make decisive progress through participatory planning and responsible citizen participation. Education for sustainable development is considered a key to success and must be promoted at the local level.

The "World Cities Summit Mayors Forum" once again showed how important it is that cities are in international dialogue. In order to meet the challenges of urbanization and to ensure future -oriented urban development, close cooperation between different actors is necessary. So Vienna remains not only a role model, but also a moderator for these global important topics.