The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) have launched a global initiative to advocate for public policy to use ICT in transitioning to smart sustainable cities.
The United for Smart Sustainable Cities (U4SSC) initiative was launched at the ITU-UNECE Forum held in Rome recently. It is open to all UN agencies, municipalities, industry, and academia and will focus on the integration of ICTs in urban operations and build on existing international standards and key performance indicators (KPIs).
“ICTs have become central to innovation in almost every sphere of social and economic activity, making collaboration essential in maximizing the contribution of ICTs to sustainable development,” said ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao.
United Nations bodies, including UNIDO, ECLAC, FAO, UNFCCC, WMO, UN Women, UNEP, UNEP-FI, WHO, WTO, UNCCD, UNU-IAS, UNDESA and UNECE, have expressed their intention to join the advisory board of the U4SSC.
At the forum, ITU and UNECE presented a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) they have developed to measure the “smartness” and “sustainability” of cities, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.
Dubai, Singapore, Manizales, Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Valencia, Rimini and other selected cities have already agreed to trial these KPIs.
"Smart sustainable cities benefit from improved energy efficiency, reduced environmental pollution, increased social inclusion, and offer businesses a better return on investment, and people a happier and healthier environment in which to live," said ITU Deputy Secretary-General Malcolm Johnson.
