The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) have launched a global initiative to advocate for public policy that will promote the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) as a catalyst for transitioning to smart sustainable cities.
The United for Smart Sustainable Cities (U4SSC) initiative will help implement Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG 11) on making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
26 May 2016: The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) have launched a global initiative to advocate for public policy that will promote the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) as a catalyst for transitioning to “smart sustainable cities.” The United for Smart Sustainable Cities (U4SSC) initiative will help implement Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG 11) on making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
According to UNECE, ICTs are critical to achieving the urban climate targets of lowering energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while boosting socioeconomic growth. In order to achieve SDG 11, tools must be developed that will help cities become smart and sustainable, UNECE notes.
The U4SSC initiative aims to generate guidelines for integrating ICTs into urban operations, based on international standards and key performance indicators. The initiative is open to all UN agencies, municipalities, industry, academia and other relevant stakeholders.
The U4SSC was launched at the ITU-ECE Forum on ‘Shaping smarter and more sustainable cities: striving for sustainable development goals,’ which convened in Rome, Italy, from 18-19 May 2016. Speaking at the launch, UNECE Executive Secretary Christian Friis Bach stated that the digital revolution can help create intelligent transport, smart energy systems, resource efficiency, transparent and open societies, and sustainable development. He added that this requires trust, predictability, and common and neutral standards that can work across borders and technologies.
The Forum discussed the concept of smart sustainable cities, and key challenges and opportunities towards the transition to smart sustainable cities and their role in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. ITU and UNECE presented key performance indicators to measure the “smartness” and “sustainability” of cities, with Dubai, Singapore, Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Valencia, Rimini and other cities already having agreed to test the indicators.
The Forum concluded with the Rome Declaration, which presents a ten-point manifesto for the transition to smart sustainable cities, including promoting the use of internationally-agreed performance indicators and technical standards in meeting sustainable development objectives in the urban context, and highlighting the value of inclusive e-governance models and peer-learning among city leaders. The Declaration also underscores the role of smart sustainable cities in the New Urban Agenda, to be agreed at the UN Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) in October 2016, in Quito, Ecuador.
Several UN agencies, including the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), UN Women, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), UNEP-Finance Initiative, the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the UN University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), have already expressed their intention to join the Advisory Board of the U4SSC. [UN Press Release] [UNECE Press Release] [U4SSC Website]