From Madrid to Queenstown: Reflections from Bloomberg CityLab 2026
By Christine Maiden Sharp, CEO, Aspen Institute NZ
Bloomberg CityLab 2026 in Madrid surpassed my expectations. This annual event hosted with the Aspen Institute is a chance for Mayors, civil servants and private sector leaders from all around the world to gather face to face, share ideas, learn about leading edge solutions and practices and form bonds for future collaboration.
Over 1,000 attended, including some 100 Mayors. Over two days the schedule was jam packed with musical performances, speeches, on-site excursions, panel discussions, breakout groups and speed dating sessions.
Some of the highlights were during the opening plenary at Teatro Real with Michael R. Bloomberg giving the opening address, followed by the Mayor of Madrid, Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, former Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, finishing with the President of Spain, Pedro Sanchez.
Two presentations stood out, one for its breathtaking beauty, and the other for its ground breaking application in communities.
'Leadership in Crescendo', presented by Ricky Burdett, Professor of Urban Studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and Director of LSE Cities, alongside Andrea Römmele, Professor of Communication in Politics and Civil Society at the Hertie School, was unlike anything I've seen at a conference. An ensemble of musicians gathered slowly on stage one by one, each playing a different instrument, the crescendo building as Burdett and Römmele made their point - that leadership today isn't about a single bold move, but about building momentum across people, institutions and time, until change becomes unavoidable.
The second was 'The Town Hall: Reimagined', presented by Yasmin Green, CEO of Jigsaw, an incubator within Google, and her Head of Product, Angelo Carino. Jigsaw builds technology designed to give people more agency in the world, and what they demonstrated in real time felt like an absolute gamechanger for civic engagement.
Using a QR code, everyone in the opening plenary (around 1,000 people) was asked five questions about what makes their city a good place to live. 850 responses came in and within 20 minutes, Jigsaw's AI tool had synthesised them all and produced 3D maps showing six major themes, with specific examples from the audience. Community came through as the overriding factor.
The tool behind this is called Sensemaker, piloted in Bowling Green, Kentucky, a region whose population is projected to double over the next 25 years, where around 8,000 residents took part in a month-long online conversation about their community's future. The AI identified where consensus existed and where it didn't, giving leaders something concrete and actionable to work with, rather than an unmanageable pile of feedback.
Hard not to think of Queenstown. The growth pressures, the range of stakeholders, the difficulty of getting a true read on where the community actually stands - a tool like this could give councils a far clearer picture of what the community wants, and a plan that reflects all of it, not just the loudest voices in the room.
Aspen Institute CEO Dan Porterfield summed it up well - cities are not passive, they are ambitious, and CityLab exists to remind leaders of that. I left with plenty to think about and a few conversations already underway to increase participation from down under in 2027.
For another perspective, read about an earlier Aspen NZ attendee's experience at CityLab in Washington DC.
If you’re interested in taking part in CityLab 2027, get in touch.
