Cities of Tomorrow: Taipei Hosts Global Smart City Expo

What if a city could manage itself? Think of traffic flowing without congestion, drones silently hovering over construction sites, and emergency services already being dispatched before problems even happen. A city that’s always calculating, responding, and adapting. That vision is on full display this week at the Smart City Summit & Expo 2026 and Net Zero City Expo in Taipei, where artificial intelligence is becoming the backbone of the modern city. Benita Keme-Palacio is on the ground, exploring firsthand how these innovations could one day transform cities like Belize.

 

Benita Keme-Palacio, Reporting

Bright screens, advanced robots, and interactive displays pulled people in from every direction at the Smart City Summit & Expo 2026 and Net Zero City Expo. This week, Taipei, Taiwan, is opening its doors to thousands of innovators and city leaders from 174 cities across 53 countries, coming together to answer one question: what will the cities of tomorrow look like when artificial intelligence becomes the backbone of urban infrastructure?

 

Albert Lee, Spokesperson, SCSE 2026

“We have a very important strategy; it’s the capital of the future, and of course AI and other technology development are key issues in building a city of the future. This year, we displayed several governments, and introduced AI development into city governments.”

 

From service robots and autonomous systems to AI-powered public services and energy-efficient infrastructure, the exhibition showcases how cities could soon operate smarter, cleaner, and more efficiently. Much of the technology on display is designed to help governments, including Belize, explore practical solutions and respond faster to challenges like traffic congestion, climate change, and growing urban populations.

 

Albert Lee

“I think Taipei really wants to help all our friends around the world, and so we use these cases [expos] as examples to help. If the Belize government, or others, are interested in our practice, we can welcome them to Taipei and get them in contact and help them to introduce this kind of technology. Some may be related to a huge construction, but some may be just like generative AI, which is a kind of less expensive policy to apply in Belize.”

 

Among the international visitors exploring these innovations is a delegation from Belize. Belmopan Mayor Pablo Cawich attended day one of the event alongside Belize’s Ambassador to Taiwan, Katherine Meighan, looking at how some of these technologies could eventually benefit Belizeans.

 

Pablo Cawich, Mayor of Belmopan

“I’m here as a special invitee from the Mayor of Taipei, Mayor Chiang Wan-an. I was here last year as well. I did get a lot of ideas and exposure to technology that can help our municipalities and our country. This enabled me to start implementing some new systems that we are trying to push for in Belmopan. So, I am here again to try and see what ideas we can get to try and take back.”

 

The possibilities are promising for Belize, but turning them into reality will first require laying the groundwork. Infrastructure, digital systems, and public awareness will all play a role before these kinds of solutions could realistically take shape back home.

 

Pablo Cawich

“I believe the country is ready; it’s the people that resist, and as I mentioned, it’s a reality of resistance to change. But I think the people are ready. Once we start pushing these systems a bit more, which we are going to start doing in Belmopan, we do have a lot of systems that we plan on implementing, and we have to remain hopeful and have the hope that people will embrace them and will see the benefits and will have higher expectations as we move forward.”

 

Over the next four days, more than seventy forums and thousands of exhibits will continue to explore how artificial intelligence and sustainability can work together to build smarter, more resilient cities. Reporting from Taipei, I am Benita Keme-Palacio for News Five.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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