Book of abstracts for the 2025 International Conference on Evolving Cities and Towns

The 5th International Conference on Evolving Cities and Towns (ICEC 2025) took place as a hybrid event with over 150 delegates joining in-person and online from the 16th – 18th July 2025 at the Centenary Building (B100) situated in the Highfield Campus at the University of Southampton, UK. It brought together leading academics, policymakers, and industry specialists to debate the role of cities in addressing climate change mitigation impacts and accelerating our transition to net-zero carbon and the important issues related to cities and towns and their evolution, be it through infrastructure, energy, AI, carbon, comfort or wellbeing. Cities consume around 75% of our energy and emit around 60% of carbon emissions, hence impacting the environment and society. Over the course of the three days, there were 4 panels including 68 oral presentations and poster presentation by delegates from international and national organisations. Day 1 covered Sustainable business, coastal cities and towns, strategic planning and energy flexibility. Day 2 focused on energy innovation for buildings, urban resilience, inclusive cities, data and AI. The conference concluded on its third day with talks on decarbonizing mobility, urbanism and urban morphology in the context of energy. This was accompanied by an interactive interview with a former Southampton MP and shadow cabinet minister for energy.