On the last weekend of summer, the discussion festival “Būtent!” was held in Vilnius. One of the stages discussed the question “Who will shape the cities of the future?”, examining how community, political decisions, and artificial intelligence can cooperate or compete to create cities where people want to live.
The discussion was attended by Domas Dargis, CEO of the real estate development company EIKA Group, Živilė Diawara, co-founder of the art factory LOFTAS, architect Mindaugas Pakalnis, and Deividas Jacka, Chairman of the Board of the building maintenance and engineering solutions group Civinity. The discussion was moderated by Mindaugas Statulevičius, President of the Lithuanian National Trade and Industry Association.
Is Vilnius better than London?
The discussion, which took place in the capital’s Bernardinų Park, started with the question “why Vilnius?”, to which the interviewees had various and very personal answers. Ž. Diawara revealed that in the past he had seriously considered moving abroad, but ultimately decided to stay in Vilnius.
“When we founded LOFTĖ, there was a lack of activity, contemporary culture, youth culture, there was a kind of stagnation, so we seriously thought about whether it was worth staying in Vilnius. But we just dived headlong into the art factory because we wanted to make Vilnius the place I would like to stay. Great people live here, a wonderful community, that’s why I love this city,” said the interviewee.
“I lived in London for six years, so I have something to compare it to,” revealed D. Dargis, head of EIKA Group. “In Vilnius, we have fairly fast transportation – everything you need is within a 15-30 minute radius. Moreover, compared to London or other European cities, Vilnius is a very safe and green city with good air quality.”
Former Vilnius architect M. Pakalnis admitted that he returned to Vilnius driven by patriotism: “I lived abroad, studied, worked, and my wife and I decided to return solely so that our children would speak Lithuanian. When I returned, I got into the urban field and realized that I could make it even better here. I hope that we remain such a medium-sized city, because if Vilnius becomes a city of one million, we won’t be able to speak Lithuanian here.”
Is communicating in Lithuanian becoming a problem?
Recently, in the context of the growing foreign community in Lithuania, which has been increasingly escalating in the public space, the topic of multiculturalism was also touched upon in the discussion, with the head of EIKA Group drawing attention to possible risks.
“I believe that multiculturalism is inevitable, we must prepare for it and we must understand the dangers. If we open the city to foreigners, it does not mean that the people who come are open to our culture. Some people come not to integrate, but to bring and cultivate their culture. Therefore, we should invite those cultures that are open to us,” said D. Dargis.
This opinion was partly supported by Civinity’s board chairman Deividas Jacka: “It would be great if talents and “brains” came to work for technology companies, and not just unqualified specialists. But for this there must be a clear strategy, a vision for the city’s future, a plan for integration, and communication between communities and politicians.”
Unlike D. Dargis or D. Jacka, architect Mindaugas Pakalnis revealed that he did not see a problem in the growing multiculturalism of the capital.
“Vilnius has been created since ancient times by Jews, Germans, Poles, Russians and others, so I am not afraid of multiculturalism, because I think that Vilnius is very monocultural now. I believe that the successful integration of newcomers would be facilitated by the mixing of residents between nationalities and social classes, so that a diverse culture would be formed, rather than certain neighborhoods,” the interviewee emphasized.
Should we follow Singapore’s example?
When asked about the importance of artificial intelligence in shaping the cities of the future, the discussion participants unanimously agreed that this rapidly gaining popularity has enormous potential and presented several ideas on how it could be utilized in Lithuania.
Civinity company representative Deividas Jacka expressed his dream that Vilnius would become the epicenter for testing artificial intelligence-based solutions in the region in the future.
“There are many great examples in the world, such as Singapore, where AI tools are used for city planning, routes, and traffic light regulation. I dream that Vilnius would become a kind of center where a technology community would be created and tested. Why can’t we become the city where the first autonomous taxis in the Baltic States would be the first to drive?”, – pondered D. Jacka.
“Artificial intelligence can be used in many things. For example, if a city used data from Waze, it could better address congestion. When planning districts or buildings, we could more easily avoid things like drafts because we could better model the climate. Even issuing building permits could become a faster process,” the head of EIKA Group said.
Is communication the key to a better future?
As the conversation turned to politics and urban planning, the panelists shared their personal vision of who should be responsible for the city’s future.
“I believe that the city should be managed by those whom we authorize to do so, and success comes when people come with a clear idea of what they want to achieve and when they want to do it well, not as quickly as possible. I believe that communication is a necessary component both between architects and politicians, and between communities and politicians, because they represent us,” said M. Pakalnis.
EIKA Group CEO D. Dargis also emphasized the importance of communication: “I am in favor of communication and cooperation, but it is very important that the discussion be of high quality – for this, we need to come without prejudices and have rules for how we discuss, how we make proposals, and how we reflect. Certainly, not everyone can have a high-quality discussion.”
“There is no one who knows everything, so only through communication will we achieve something,” Z. Diawara added. “There used to be an app where people shared how they saw Vilnius. The conclusion: everyone sees it very differently, because we live in our own bubbles. Community meetings often turn into arguments, but we need to start talking somewhere.”
The discussion on the formation of cities on the “Future and Community” stage perfectly reflected the diversity and depth of the topics of the “Būtent!” festival. Over 280 discussions were held here over two days, with over 1,500 participants on 27 stages.