Connected Cities
2026 Summit
October 15-16 Seattle, WA
SOLD OUT
A historic gathering of leaders shaping the future of our cities and communities to prioritize human connection.
For the last 60 years, we have optimized our cities and culture for individualism and commerce. The result is a country where most people are disconnected and divided.
But that is starting to change. Across the country, civic innovators—organizers, community builders, and cross-sector leaders—are building a new civic era, redesigning our cities and communities around social connection.
The Connected Cities Summit is where we come together to map what communities are building and create a shared vision for how together we can support social connection and trust.
What would a city built for human connection look like?
Who Attends
Leaders shaping how people live, work, gather, and play.
City leaders rebuilding connection locally
National organizations shaping the future of community
Leaders supporting people through life transitions
Builders of spaces, programs, and platforms that bring people together
Funders investing in stronger, more connected communities
Collaborating Partners
Sponsors
EXPERIENCE
A two-day creative sprint: part design studio, part civic gathering, part dinner table.
The Connected City Blueprint
Mapping what is working today and what is possible tomorrow.
The Connected Cities Summit is designed to co-author a shared blueprint that we can all bring back to our communities to inform and inspire our work for the next decade.
It offers:
Shared vision and narrative to guide our field.
Vivid description of the key infrastructure needed.
Practical pathways for collaboration.
Agenda
Connected cities summit 2026
Two days. Eight chapters. One Connected Cities Blueprint, written by everyone in the room.
Hosts
The Connected Cities Summit is hosted by the US Chamber of Connection in partnership with the National Nordic Museum. The museum is more than a venue, it's a provocation. Nordic countries consistently rank as the happiest and most prosperous in the world, not despite their investment in social connection, but because of it. It's the right place to ask what an American connection-first city could look like.
Summit Curators
Aaron Hurst
Founder of the US Chamber of Connection and one of America's leading architects of social change. As Summit Creative Director, he's designing the ideas, provocations, and frameworks that will forge a shared blueprint and ignite a movement to redesign American cities for human flourishing.
Charlotte Massey
Co-founder of the US Chamber of Connection and leads its Seattle chapter, driving the work to make Seattle the most welcoming city in America. As our Seattle Experience Creative Director, she's bringing the best of the city into the room and out into the streets, so Seattle itself becomes part of what you learn.
Jacob Simons
Principal at Gensler and one of the country's leading experts on how space shapes human behavior. As our Summit Experience Creative Director, he's designing every environment at the summit to unlock creativity, deepen connection, and ensure the work we do enables us to build connected cities together.
Michael Hebb
Renowned speaker, writer, chef and the pioneer of the pop-up restaurant movement. His topic-based dinners, including Death Over Dinner and Exodus Over Dinner, have convened millions around the globe. As our Culinary Experience Creative Director, he’s designing every meal to do what he does best, use the table as a catalyst for the conversations that matter most.
Travel & Accommodations
We encourage participants to stay near the National Nordic Museum in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood to remain immersed in the experience. There are a range of Airbnbs and small hotels in the area but they will book quickly.
Plan to be in Seattle the night of October 14th and to leave the morning of the 17th to ensure you are able fully participate.
Summit Sponsorship
The Connected Cities Summit brings together the leaders designing how people connect in modern life—across cities, institutions, and communities.
Your partnership helps turn ideas into action and scale what works across cities.
Interested in partnering to help reconnect cities?