NatureTech and AI for Inclusive Smart Cities

Cameron Price — Convenor, EcoLaunch

In his keynote at FABER Forum 2025, Cameron Price explored how emerging technologies can help cities reconnect with nature while becoming more inclusive, resilient, and just.

As rapid urbanisation accelerates climate stress and social inequality, many European cities are turning to Nature-Based Solutions such as green roofs, wetlands, urban forests, and climate-smart public spaces. These interventions promise cleaner air, cooler streets, improved biodiversity, and better mental well-being. Yet, as Price pointed out, access to these benefits is rarely equal, and ecological priorities are often treated as secondary to economic or infrastructural convenience.

Drawing from his work at EcoLaunch, Cameron examined how artificial intelligence, machine learning, predictive analytics, computer vision, and interconnected sensors can radically improve how nature is designed, supported, and protected in cities. These tools can optimise water flows, monitor urban heat islands, predict stress on green ecosystems, and continuously adjust interventions in real time.

However, the talk also raised critical ethical questions. Price highlighted the risks of surveillance, algorithmic bias, and the high environmental cost of digital infrastructures themselves — reminding the audience that “smart” does not always mean “just.”

His keynote offered a balanced and deeply human vision: cities where nature and technology do not compete, but collaborate — guided by ethics, equity, and long-term resilience.