Managing one building well is hard enough. Managing facilities across a district or city means coordinating transit networks, utilities, and dozens of buildings that were never designed to work as a single system — and the technology behind a "smart city" only helps once someone has solved that coordination problem first.

This Coordinating the Connected City Training Course, delivered by Arab British Fellowship Training Academy, is built for facilities professionals operating beyond single-building scope. It covers how urban infrastructure systems interconnect, how to govern shared assets across multiple stakeholders, and how to embed sustainability into decisions where small inefficiencies multiply fast across a portfolio.

Participants leave able to coordinate facilities strategy across interconnected urban systems and turn smart city ambitions into operational reality.

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Explain the role of Smart City Facilities Management within broader urban strategy.
• Analyse how urban infrastructure systems interconnect across transit, utilities and buildings.
• Coordinate facilities strategy across multiple stakeholders, agencies and asset owners.
• Manage smart buildings as integrated components of larger urban systems.
• Embed sustainability principles into facilities decisions at district or city scale.
• Build a roadmap for scaling smart facilities practices citywide.

Target Group

• Facilities managers working within smart city or urban development initiatives
• Urban planning and infrastructure professionals
• Sustainability leads working across large-scale facilities portfolios
• Government and municipal facilities management professionals
• Real estate and development professionals involved in district-scale projects

Beyond the Single Building: Rethinking Facilities Management at City Scale

• How smart city facilities management differs from single-building FM
• The coordination challenge behind smart city ambitions
• Key stakeholders shaping urban-scale facilities strategy

How Urban Systems Talk to Each Other: Transit, Utilities and Building Integration

• How transit, utilities and building systems interconnect
• Common barriers to integration across urban infrastructure
• Building facilities strategies that account for system interdependence

Smart Buildings as Networked Assets, Not Standalone Investments

• Managing smart buildings as components of a larger urban network
• Data sharing and interoperability between buildings and city systems
• Technical and governance challenges in smart building integration

Sustainability Multiplied: Efficiency Decisions at District and City Scale

• Embedding sustainability into district and city-scale facilities decisions
• How small inefficiencies compound across large urban portfolios
• Aligning facilities sustainability strategy with broader city goals

Governing Shared Infrastructure: Aligning Agencies, Developers and Owners

• Working across government agencies, developers and asset owners
• Managing competing priorities among diverse urban stakeholders
• Building consensus around shared infrastructure and facilities goals

From Pilot to Citywide: Data Strategy, Roadmaps and Measuring Success

• Selecting technology and data platforms suited to large-scale deployment
• Building a phased roadmap for citywide or district-scale adoption
• Measuring the success of smart city facilities initiatives over time