Recently, a captivating image went viral on social media. It shows the exterior of a building seen from a distance, at dusk. Tiny windows puncture the façade — some lit, others dark — each one corresponding to a different apartment. Over every window, a small caption describes what is happening inside.

In one apartment, a couple is cooking dinner. In another, a mother breastfeeds her newborn. A grandmother watches television. A postgraduate student revises an essay. Higher up, someone receives sad news over the phone. Below, three friends laugh over childhood memories and glasses of wine. A neighbour packs their bags — gentrification is pushing them to another corner of the city. Next door, someone has just arrived in the building. Two lovers kiss passionately on the first floor. Someone cries on the mezzanine. On the rooftop, a young man looks at the stars.

It is a striking scene. And it hints at something even more compelling: the infinite number of microcosms — stories, emotions, challenges, joys — that unfold in shared life. In every building, every block, every neighbourhood. Hour after hour, day after day.

Now scale that image up to the size of a city. Imagine hundreds, thousands, millions of scenes happening simultaneously, in your town or city, in the one next door, on the other side of the world. Add everything that happens outside buildings: the encounters and frictions of public space, the flows of the metro, the quiet of libraries, the intensity of markets, the movement of roads and highways. Add, too, all the decisions, ideas and actions that have shaped how cities function today.

Seen through a global lens, that image — if it can fit within our minds — becomes as overwhelming as it is revealing.

Cities are chaos, overlap, acceleration, and challenge. They are drive, energy and opportunity. They are climate emergency, housing crises and inequality — and they are also creativity, contestation and diversity.

They are questions — many of them, and among the most pressing of our time — and, at the same time, they are answers. Complexity and possibility, all at once. Just like the building in the image.

But, above all, cities are an eloquent snapshot of today's world. Because if there is one defining feature of our era, beyond instability or uncertainty, it is the relentless urbanization of our planet.

Fascinating, right? Yes — that’s what drove the foundation of Citiestobe in 2016, and what drives this new chapter today.

The Next Chapter

At Citiestobe, we approach this moment with a clear position. We are — unapologetically — radically optimistic. Not because we ignore challenges or conflict, but because we believe that cities, precisely in their plurality and tension, hold an extraordinary capacity for reinvention.

This was the spirit that led Anteverti to create Citiestobe ten years ago. Founded by Pilar Conesa, President of Anteverti, and Cristina Garrido, its CEO, the platform was born from a clear conviction: that the ideas, questions and perspectives emerging from years of working closely with cities and urban leaders — through Anteverti’s consulting work and its role as curator of the Smart City Expo World Congress, the world’s leading event on cities and innovation — deserved a space of their own.

A space for reflection and critical thinking around contemporary urban realities — a mission that feels more alive and necessary than ever.

This new chapter builds on Citiestobe’s founding essence, reinterpreting it for today’s world. It brings Sergio García i Rodríguez on board as Editor-in-Chief, alongside Manu Fernández as Senior Editorial Advisor and Martina Jané as Content Strategist. It embraces digital trends and new ways of generating and sharing knowledge, while refreshing both visually and editorially to open a more constructive, curious, and forward-looking urban conversation — one that connects insights, people, and practices, and embraces complexity without simplifying it.

This renewed vision is captured in our new leitmotif:

By 'fresh', we don’t just mean new or disruptive — although that matters. We mean ideas that help us see differently. Ideas that question assumptions, move beyond reductive narratives and ready-made solutions, and build bridges across disciplines, scales, perspectives and lived experiences. Above all, ideas that lead to better questions — because better cities begin with sharper, more challenging ones.

Content That Behaves Like Cities

That is why the new Citiestobe, like cities themselves, embraces hybridity and multiple layers. We see it not simply as a digital content platform, but as an urban think lab: a space for collective reflection, experimentation, and activation.

This way of thinking also shapes how we have organized our content. Rather than unfolding through rigid categories, Citiestobe moves through complementary and overlapping sections, because urban realities, like the lives happening behind those windows, do not occur in straight lines.

Inside, you will find:

• Trends & Deep Dives, to understand what is happening and where cities are heading
• Know-how, Mapping Innovation & Curated Picks, to explore how better cities are made and which experiences point the way forward
• Conversations with leading urban voices from around the world
• Urban Inspo & Photo Essays, because some angles are best understood visually — through photography, aesthetic storytelling and initiatives like our Citiestobe Photo Award

Together, these layers form an open, evolving ecosystem that invites readers like you (we hope so!) to move across themes, formats, and scales, connecting insights along the way.

Now It’is Your Turn

question what you read, connect ideas, and join the conversation.

This new Citiestobe is more experimental, more reflective, and more participatory than ever. Open to new voices and perspectives.

Like cities themselves, Citiestobe will always be evolving. Always in motion.

That’s why we want to hear from you. Have a fresh idea worth sharing, a question you would like us to address, a project we should know about, or feedback — good or bad? Write to us at citiestobe@anteverti.com: we are here to listen.

Welcome to the new Citiestobe: a place for anyone passionate about reimagining better urban futures. ●