Security as the Foundation of a Smart City: Dalibor Smažinka on Technologies That Protect Public Space

What specifically can visitors to this year’s URBIS look forward to in the area you are overseeing? Please highlight a few key points.

Visitors can look forward to a security-focused program that connects a strategic view of smart city development with very practical experience from the day-to-day operations of municipal police forces, city technology organizations, the Police of the Czech Republic, hospitals, schools, and experts in the protection of soft targets.

We have designated the main security day for the middle day of the trade fair, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. On this day, three panel discussions will take place, logically linked to one another.
The first panel, “Smart City and Security – Different Paths, One Goal,” will open the topic of security as the foundational layer of a smart city.
The second panel, “Security, Situational Prevention, and Public Order in Municipal Practice,” will go deeper into the everyday realities of municipal police work, CCTV surveillance systems, situational prevention, and cooperation between cities, the police, and other municipal departments.
The third panel, “Protection of Soft Targets in the Urban Environment,” will focus on schools, hospitals, public buildings, mass events, and other locations with large concentrations of people, where it is necessary to sensitively balance openness of public space with a responsible approach to security.

In addition to the panel discussions, we are also preparing a practical Axis Security Village together with technology partners. Its goal is to showcase solutions for cities and municipal organizations, including schools, hospitals, public buildings, transport, mass events, and public spaces. We want the security part of URBIS to be not only about talking, but also about demonstrating concrete technologies in practice.

The Security Village will present integrated solutions from the popular Swedish manufacturer Axis and its technology partners from the Czech Republic and abroad, including, for example, 2N, Milestone, Genetec, DataFromSky, Dronetag, Droneguard, OSYFLY, JALUD Embedded, Fly4Future, FF Group, ADAM, Incinity, Metel, Peoly, and others. Visitors will see technologies for video surveillance, video analytics, sound analysis, crisis situation detection, municipal CCTV systems, situational awareness, traffic management, protection of schools and hospitals, security for mass events, drone and anti-drone solutions, and mobile surveillance systems for temporary events.

The security exhibition will also include regular guided and moderated tours, during which visitors will be taken through individual demonstrations and shown how the technologies fit together within a functional urban security ecosystem. The highest concentration of expert program content, practical demonstrations, and guided tours will take place on Wednesday, June 3.

What is the biggest concrete benefit your program will bring to participants?

I see the biggest benefit in the fact that we will not address security in isolation. Smart City is often associated with transport, energy, digitalization, or the environment, but security is one of the fundamental values of both individuals and cities as communities of people. If people do not feel safe in a city, many other “smart” solutions lose their real meaning.

I often say that URBIS could just as well be called the “Smart and Safe City Meetup.” Security is the foundational layer upon which other aspects of quality of life in a city are built. At the same time, there is no longer a sharp boundary between security, transport, crisis management, technical services, or environmental protection. The same data and technologies can help municipal police maintain public order, traffic departments optimize traffic flow, technical services manage the city, and crisis management teams respond to extraordinary situations.
Participants will therefore take away not only inspiration, but also a concrete idea of how technologies can work together. A camera no longer has to be just a source of video for municipal police. It can also serve as a sensor for traffic, public space, noise, crisis situations, or security incidents. Similarly, a drone does not have to be just a flying camera, but also a fast tool for situational awareness during emergencies, traffic disruptions, search operations, or large public events.

Which real-world problem does your topic help address the most?

A major problem is that security technologies in cities have often developed historically in separate layers and for single, specific purposes. Typically, there is a camera system for municipal police, traffic technologies for transport, separate systems for crisis management, and isolated agendas for technical services or environmental protection. The result is that cities sometimes have quite a lot of technology, but do not always extract maximum value from it.
Today’s technologies make it possible to change this perspective. A modern camera is no longer just “an image on a screen.” It is a sensor that, while respecting privacy protection rules, can provide data on traffic, vehicle types, traffic density, movement in public space, noise levels, or security situations. Systems can detect people, vehicles, cyclists, animals, license plates, and sound events such as shouting, breaking glass, or gunshots, helping to shorten response times for responsible authorities.
The program therefore helps address a practical question: how to turn individual technologies into a functional system that supports security, crime prevention, public order, transport, crisis preparedness, and quality of life in a city. This is precisely why, alongside discussions, we are preparing the Security Village, where these solutions can be seen in practice and in logical context.

Where do you see the greatest potential for further development in cities and municipalities?

I see the greatest potential in cross-disciplinary cooperation and in working with data. Cities should do more to break down the imaginary silos between security, transport, IT, technical services, crisis management, and environmental protection. That is where the greatest value of a smart city emerges.
For example, a municipal police camera system, when properly configured, can be important not only for public order and crime prevention, but also for traffic management, passenger safety, emergency response, or public space planning. Vehicles of technical services can carry mobile cameras or sensors to monitor the condition of roads, public spaces, or infrastructure. Data from transport, noise, air quality, and human movement can help cities make better decisions, plan more effectively, and prevent problems.
I also see great potential in the protection of schools, hospitals, public buildings, and mass events. These are places where large numbers of people naturally gather, and cities need to find ways to protect them without losing openness and normal operation. Here, modern technologies can significantly help—from early detection of unusual situations, through better situational awareness, to faster coordination of security forces.

What are you personally most looking forward to at URBIS?

I am most looking forward to meeting people who in everyday operations often encounter each other only indirectly—representatives of cities, municipal police forces, technology organizations, security departments, the Police of the Czech Republic, experts in soft target protection, schools, hospitals, and technology partners.
Personally, I am particularly interested in the intersection of security and smart cities. Security is a very practical discipline, but it is also rapidly evolving thanks to data, sensors, artificial intelligence, drones, and new possibilities for technology integration. I therefore look forward to discussions about how cities can remain open, welcoming, and functional, while at the same time being better prepared for the risks that today’s public spaces bring.
I am also very much looking forward to the Security Village and the guided tours, because that is where it will be possible to show that a “smart and safe city” is not an abstract concept. There will be concrete technologies, concrete scenarios, and concrete use cases—from municipal camera systems to the protection of schools, hospitals, and mass events, as well as drone, anti-drone, and mobile surveillance solutions.

I believe that the security part of URBIS will show that a smart city is not just a digital city, but above all a city that is safe, resilient, and well managed.

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