Berlin. Next year, Germany’s capital city will be home to a new combined trade show and congress – Metropolitan Solutions. Developed as an international showcase and conference platform for dialogue on tomorrow’s smart, green cities, the new Metropolitan Solutions will premiere from 20 to 22 May 2015 at the CityCube venue in Berlin. “Our aim is to expand and develop Metropolitan Solutions into the world’s biggest platform for information and dialogue on smart cities,” said Deutsche Messe Managing Board member Dr. Jochen Köckler. “By 2050, more than 70 percent of the world’s population will be living in cities. And Metropolitan Solutions is the forum where solutions for mastering the strategic and technological challenges arising from this rapid urbanization will be presented and discussed.”

Metropolitan Solutions targets international decision makers from municipal public administration and council backgrounds, architects, urban planners and executives from municipally owned enterprises and puts them together with the world’s leading providers of urban infrastructure solutions. The trade show component will explore the themes of energy supply, mobility, water quality, water supply and urban planning and management and will be supported by around 15 conferences on topical issues of key importance for tomorrow’s cities. The conferences will be organized by leading institutions and associations, such as the World Bank, ISOCARP (International Society of City and Regional Planners) and Germany’s leading digital industry association, BITKOM. Highlights include the Asia-Pacific Weeks, the European Innovation Partnership on Smart Cities and Communities and the German-Arab Smart City Conference. Together, the trade fair and conferences are a winning mix, as Dr. Köckler explains: “This combination of urbanization-themed trade fair and conferences is without match anywhere in the world. We and our partners from government and industry intend to make Berlin the global capital of modern Smart City thinking.”

Metropolitan Solutions certainly enjoys high-level government support in Berlin. Michael Müller, Berlin’s Senator for Urban Development and the Environment, had this to say: “The big challenges confronting cities and urban centers worldwide can only be mastered through innovation and smart ideas and technologies. The proportion of the world’s population living in cities is already over 50 percent and is set to grow further still. Such a high level of urbanization creates pressing challenges in a variety of areas, such as energy supply, the environment and waste management – challenges that call for intelligent and creative solutions. There’s no better laboratory for developing and testing these solutions than our cities. And what better city than Berlin? The city is already rated by many as one of the most livable on the planet. Metropolitan Solutions provides a much-needed forum for tackling these issues – for identifying new possibilities and opportunities and forging new partnerships. And Berlin provides the perfect location.”

Cornelia Yzer, Berlin’s Senator for Economics, Technology and Research, is likewise convinced of the logic of relocating Metropolitan Solutions to Berlin: “Metropolitan Solutions has found its rightful home. Berlin is well on the way to becoming one of Europe’s foremost centers of Smart City innovation. With its strong base of companies and research institutes in the new technology sector, Berlin is an incubator of groundbreaking solutions for the cities of the future. Plus we’re doing everything we can to swiftly transition these technologies into practice right here in Berlin so as to position the city as an internationally respected and recognized role model.”

Metropolitan Solutions used to be part of the HANNOVER MESSE trade fair in Hannover, Germany. As the world’s leading industrial technology fair, HANNOVER MESSE showcases technological solutions for energy- and resource-efficient manufacturing. “And the cities of the future need these technologies, too,” says Dr. Köckler. “Which is why we partnered with our exhibitors to launch Metropolitan Solutions in 2011. Now, as the next stage in the show’s evolution, we will be staging it in Berlin as a stand-alone event comprising a trade show and a comprehensive conference program. This will give companies and organizations that offer urban technologies and solutions more direct access to urban decision makers. Berlin, Germany’s capital city, is the logical choice for the new event because it is committed to an internationally respected Smart City strategy.”

This year’s Metropolitan Solutions in Hannover featured presentations from more than 100 cities and organizations. Delegations from 300 cities and more than 6,000 visitors from around the world used the event to learn about the future of urban living. The event was supported by a network of about 40 partners worldwide, including institutions such as the German Association of Cities (DST), the German Association of Towns and Municipalities (DStGB), the ICLEI global cities network and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

Deutsche Messe AG
With revenue of 312 million euros (2013), Deutsche Messe AG ranks among the world’s ten largest trade fair companies and operates the world’s largest exhibition center. In 2013, Deutsche Messe planned and staged 119 trade fairs and congresses around the world – events which hosted a total of 41,000 exhibitors and some four million visitors. The company’s event portfolio includes such world-leading trade fairs as CeBIT (IT and telecommunications), HANNOVER MESSE (industrial technology), CeMAT (intralogistics), DOMOTEX (floor coverings), and LIGNA (wood processing and forestry). With over 1,000 employees and a network of 66 representatives, subsidiaries and branch offices, Deutsche Messe is present in more than 100 countries worldwide.