The cities where we will live in the future will be radically different from the ones we know today. As a result of profound and powerful change – including demographic change, climate change, the growing scarcity of natural resources, and evolving lifestyles and social practices – cities will have to adapt and reinvent themselves. To meet this challenge, all players – elected officials, citizens, public and private sector decision-makers, architects, urbanists, researchers, and experts – will need to get involved.

It is precisely in efforts to bring together all stakeholders and remove obstacles to discussion that The City Factory was created in 2008 under the guidance of Yves-Thibault de Silguy, then Chairman of the Board of Directors at VINCI. As a developer of infrastructure, VINCI is at the heart of urban-development issues that bring together urban design and urban living. The City Factory is a forum, even a crucible, in which various points of view, experiences, and visions can come into contact.

Today more than ever before, our ambition as a think tank is to contribute to discussions about urban innovation. To do so, The City Factory favours an interdisciplinary approach that brings together urban development thinkers and players from around the world around research projects and seminars. As a hub for various cultures and practices, The City Factory extends its exploration beyond technical expertise in efforts to generate tangible and high value-added knowledge designed to enable us to imagine today the cities of tomorrow.

Remi Dorval
President, The City Factory