What Cities Today does

Cities Today is a digital news and media publication focused on sustainable urban development, serving an international audience of city leaders, government officials, urban planners, and mobility professionals. Founded in 2010 and headquartered in London with a Valencia, Spain office, the company is operated by PFD Publications Ltd., a UK-registered private media company (PFD Media Group). The platform organizes content into three primary verticals — Digitalisation, Mobility, and Liveability — covering topics such as smart cities, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, public transport, electrification, urban resilience, and circular economy. Cities Today also runs the Cities Today Institute, a related network providing mentoring, training, and live forums for community leaders, and hosts industry events and educational courses such as the City Leadership Forum on Mobility.

The company's product portfolio spans a digital publication (cities-today.com), a freemium subscription with a premium tier offering unlimited articles and exclusive reports, a Knowledge Hub of whitepapers, a Cities of Innovation guide for start-ups and scale-ups, and the Cities Today Institute's events and training services. Underlying technology is a standard digital publishing platform (WordPress-based per site evidence), with content distributed via website, email newsletters, and social channels (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn). Partnerships include the AI Adoption Alliance with AWS, NVIDIA, and Zensors AI targeting airport operators.

Cities Today generates revenue through a subscription-based publishing model combining free registration and paid premium tiers, supplemented by advertising/sponsorship sales, sponsored whitepapers, and events/courses. The go-to-market is content-led and self-serve, reaching a global audience without geographic restriction and with explicit North American and European market focus. Ownership remains within the founding private structure of PFD Publications Ltd. with no disclosed external institutional investment, private equity involvement, or public listing.

Name

Cities Today

Legal name

PFD Publications Ltd.

Website

https://cities-today.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Cities Today is a London-based digital media publication and research network covering sustainable urban development, smart cities, and mobility for an international audience of city leaders, urban planners, and transportation professionals. It operates via a freemium subscription model, whitepapers, events, and the Cities Today Institute.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Business Media and Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (51311)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Local & City Guide Content Aggregators (MPACAKAJ)

Keywords

• Urban development news
• Smart city media
• Urban mobility coverage
• City leadership insights
• Digital publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Subscription-based publishing: Cities Today operates as a digital publication providing content focused on sustainable urban development. The company offers both free and premium subscription tiers. Free registration provides access to certain content, while paid subscriptions unlock premium content. The publication generates revenue through subscription charges and potentially advertising/sponsorship.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Cities Today is a digital news and media publication focused on sustainable urban development, covering digitalisation, mobility, and liveability topics for an international audience of city leaders and urban professionals. The publication operates a content platform with free and premium subscription tiers, supplemented by whitepapers, events, courses, and the Cities Today Institute network that provides mentoring and training to community leaders.

Product overview

Cities Today is a publication and digital media platform owned by PFD Media Group that provides news, analysis, and resources focused on sustainable urban development. The company operates a content platform with a free tier and premium subscription model, supplemented by whitepapers through its Knowledge Hub, a Cities of Innovation guide for start-ups, and the Cities Today Institute which provides networking, mentoring, and training services. The portfolio also includes events and courses for city professionals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cities Today Website Online publication providing news, analysis, and coverage on urban development, smart cities, mobility, digitalization, and liveability topics for city leaders and urban professionals.
• Premium Subscription Paid subscription tier offering enhanced access to content, including unlimited articles, premium reports, and exclusive features beyond the basic free tier.
• Whitepapers / Knowledge Hub Research reports and whitepapers on smart city topics including digitalization, mobility, and urban sustainability.
• Cities of Innovation Guide providing data and analysis on infrastructure, funding, tax benefits, and access to capital and talent available in different cities for start-ups and scale-ups.
• Cities Today Institute Network assisting community leaders in preparing for a liveable, sustainable and resilient future through know-how, tools, mentoring, training, and live forums.
• Events and Courses Industry events, conferences, and educational courses for urban professionals and city leaders, including forums such as the City Leadership Forum on Mobility.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• AWS (Amazon Web Services)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAWS partnered with Cities Today Institute, NVIDIA, and Zensors AI to form the AI Adoption Alliance, designed to help airport operators navigate data governance, legacy integration, and use case evaluation for AI adoption.
• NVIDIAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNVIDIA partnered with Cities Today Institute, AWS, and Zensors AI to form the AI Adoption Alliance for airport operators to evaluate AI adoption, focusing on data governance and legacy integration.
• Zensors AIcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerZensors AI partnered with Cities Today Institute, AWS, and NVIDIA in the AI Adoption Alliance to help airport operators with AI adoption including data governance and use case evaluation.

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Planetizen: Long-running media and education platform for urban planners, covering planning, design, and technology in cities. Comparable niche audience (urban planners and city professionals) with subscription, training, and event revenue streams.
• American City & County: Long-running B2B media brand covering municipal government operations, infrastructure, and technology. Directly comparable audience of city/county leaders and similar subscription + advertising revenue model.
• Governing Magazine: e.Republic publication covering state and local government policy, management, and innovation. Overlapping audience of city and county officials with comparable B2B publishing model and event business.
• Next City: Nonprofit urban journalism organisation covering equitable city development, mobility, and innovation. Directly comparable B2B-adjacent editorial mission targeting urban professionals and city leaders, primarily in North America.
• Smart Cities Dive: Industry Dive-owned B2B news publication serving city leaders on smart cities, mobility, and urban infrastructure. Most direct competitor with overlapping coverage areas (digitalisation, mobility, sustainability) and a similar subscription/advertising model.
• Route Fifty: Atlantic Media's news site for state and local government, covering technology, infrastructure, and management. Directly comparable audience of city and county leaders with similar editorial coverage of urban digitalisation.
• GovTech: e.Republic's flagship publication covering state and local government technology, including smart cities, digital transformation, and mobility. Comparable B2B audience (city/county CIOs and officials) and multi-revenue model including events, research, and subscriptions.

Emerging players

• CityAge: Digital media and events platform focused on urban innovation, infrastructure, and the future of cities. Comparable editorial niche with a heavier event/convening emphasis than Cities Today; operates at a smaller scale.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Cities_Today
• Facebookfacebook.com/citiestoday
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cities-today

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cities Today