Gratian Mihailescu

UrbanizeHub Founder, Expert in Urban Development | Romania

Representing Romania: Gratian Mihailescu. He’s the Founder of thinktank UrbanizeHub and is an expert in urban development based in Bucharest. His NGO is behind policies, solutions contests, reports, and guides that all promote smart and sustainable city projects. Gratian empowers communities by asking citizens what they wish their cities to look like and involving them in the decision-making process to bring that vision to life. His Priorities of Your City poll gathered in excess of 100,000 responses, while his Urban Innovation Hackathons offer young urbanists prizes for solutions to sustainability’s most pressing problems. Profits from Gratian’s book, ‘How to Shape the Cities of the Future’ funds humanitarian causes, while ‘Romanian City 4.0’ explores how we can harness new concepts to flip the status quo. He also hosts UrbanTalks, where stakeholders debate sustainable development and the future of the city. This has proven an effective catalyst for municipalities to develop collaborative partnerships and access EU funding.