On April 21^st , 2022, the fourth “Eureka Meets the Atlantic” will take place in the United States of America, in the busy city of Boston, Massachusetts.

Organized by the Portuguese Chairmanship of the Eureka, and supported by the MIT Portugal Program, the event will address urban innovation and the path to more sustainable and healthy cities, at both local and global scales.

Occurrences such as sea level rise or extreme weather events affect coastal cities directly, highlighting the importance of considering climate change when planning city layouts. Innovation has the power to bring great benefits to public, urban spaces, modernizing cities and preparing them for the various effects of climate change, while also allowing them to become more prosperous and sustainable. As the influence of coastal cities spreads out to surrounding areas, positive changes through science and technology, with adaptations to climate change in mind, will result in an overall net positive for everyone, hence the need for more dynamism in city planning and design.

There are, however, obstacles in the path of transitioning to eco-cities. Even though information and communication technologies have been proven to be invaluable assets, we are yet to unleash the full potential of big data and AI to optimize the efficiency of cities. Nevertheless, if public bodies articulate with society as a whole, the mitigation and adaptation to natural hazards can be achieved through appropriate planning and
management.

It is crucial that we learn from the past to prepare for a better future. And thus, the goal is to analyze how cities and urban regions were designed, planned, and developed previously, while discussing and proposing potential trajectories for smarter and more sustainable cities
in the coming years.

Eureka is the world’s biggest public network for international cooperation in R&D and innovation, present in over 45 countries. Since 1985, it has funded and supported the R&D and innovation of thousands of ground-breaking commercialized products, processes or services that have positively impacted economic growth and people’s lives. Eureka gives you the freedom to create your ideal consortium and decide the technological focus of your international R&D projects. The programmes are flexible and open to startups, SMEs, large companies, research organizations and universities.