The Urban Code: One of the Largest Smart-City Documentaries Ever Produced Begins to Take Shape

Directed by Ricardo Honório, founder of EnergyChannel, the documentary The Urban Code enters its production phase with filming scheduled for 2026 in 11 cities around the world that stand out for innovative urban initiatives.

The Urban Code Arrives: EnergyChannel Launches a New Documentary Series on Smart Cities

The series aims to reach more than 70 countries and will be available in four languages across multiple distribution platforms. Here at EnergyChannel, readers will have full access to behind-the-scenes coverage, exclusive interviews, and the projects that are reshaping the cities of the future.

A Global Project With a Local Lens

The core mission of The Urban Code is to map real solutions—from public policy, mobility, and energy to social inclusion and data governance—showing how cities transform technology and management into better quality of life for their residents.Filming across 11 urban centers will allow comparisons of strategies, challenges, and outcomes in diverse contexts, helping identify what works (and why) when the citizen is placed at the center.

The First Interview: Felício Ramuth on Smart Cities in Practice

To open the interview series, Ricardo Honório spoke with Felício Ramuth, Vice Governor of the State of São Paulo. With prior experience as mayor of São José dos Campos, Ramuth argues that technology is only “smart” when it improves services for people—not as an end in itself. (Government of São Paulo)

In the interview, Ramuth highlighted several points that will guide The Urban Code:

People as the Main Focus

For him, “intelligence” has two sides technical and human and public services must always prioritize the citizen. Technology is a tool, not the final objective.

Certification and Evidence-Based Governance

Ramuth stressed the role of technical standards, indicators, and certification processes as governance tools that force cities to produce evidence, monitor performance, and guarantee administrative continuity.

Simple Solutions, Real Impact

He cited practical examples from São José dos Campos, such as reorganizing the distribution of adult diapers—a measure that reduced fraud and costs while freeing up space in health units. Innovation, he noted, does not always require high technology.

Energy and Sustainability

Ramuth detailed initiatives involving concessioned solar plants, biogas recovery in landfills, and energy procurement through Brazil’s free market to supply public buildings with a greener matrix cutting emissions and reducing costs.

Mobility and Smart Infrastructure

Projects such as municipal fleet electrification, electric corridors, and intelligent traffic lights were highlighted as examples of how sustainability and efficiency can work together.

Simplification and Digital Public Services

Integrated platforms such as CPF-based access to municipal services—were presented as solutions to reduce bureaucracy and improve user experience.

Regulatory Challenges and Public-Sector Governance

Innovation in government requires courage and legal adaptation, Ramuth emphasized, noting that public administrators can only act within legal authorization. Long-term State policies, rather than short-term government agendas, are essential.

Why This Matters for You and for Cities Everywhere

The Urban Code intends to show, through reporting and investigation, how seemingly technical measures certifications, alternative procurement models, and “Smart City as a Service” contracts produce tangible results: financial savings, fewer delays, reduced rework, more transparency, and more agile public services.

The series will also address false technological solutions that complicate the relationship between the city and its residents, while highlighting cases where simplicity delivered more impact than high-tech “shine.”

EnergyChannel as the Coverage Hub

EnergyChannel will provide special coverage throughout the production: written stories, videos, full interview excerpts, and short-form content (reels and shorts) to share the documentary’s findings with a wide audience.

Our team will follow the pre-production, filming, and post-production stages, along with technical analyses of each urban initiative featured in the film.

What to Expect in the Coming Months

• Reports on the planning and selection of the 11 cities

• Thematic series on energy, mobility, data governance, housing, and inclusion—anticipating topics explored in the documentary

• Exclusive excerpts from the interview with Felício Ramuth and conversations with other authorities and specialists

Stay tuned: here at EnergyChannel you will have exclusive access to the making of The Urban Code and analyses that help governments, companies, and citizens understand how to design cities that are more just, efficient, and sustainable.

To gather context on the vice governor’s public trajectory, we consulted official documents from the Government of São Paulo and publicly available profiles. (Government of São Paulo)

The Urban Code Arrives: EnergyChannel Launches a New Documentary Series on Smart Cities