People Centred-Smart Cities | UN-Habitat
People Centred-Smart Cities
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The People-Centred Smart Cities Flagship Programme
The world is irreversibly urban and digital at the same time. Digital technology is reshaping all aspects of human existence including education, health, employment, politics and more. At the same time, most of the global population now resides in cities and will continue to do so. Humanity’s present and future is urban. Achieving a better quality of life for urban residents worldwide is urgent, and digital technology offers a crucial opportunity to make this happen. Digital advancements are already transforming how people live and work in cities across the globe. Yet, in 2023, one-third of the global population – approximately 2.6 billion people – remained offline.
The COVID-19 pandemic introduced even greater urgency for local and national governments alike to bridge the digital divide especially for marginalized groups and informal settlement communities, build more efficient and secure data management systems, and protect citizens’ privacy when using digital services. These activities are the foundation for sustainable, inclusive and resilient smart cities.
Our work
The flagship programme People Centred-Smart Cities ensures that deployment of technology and innovation is used to ensure sustainability, inclusivity, prosperity and human rights in cities. It supports national and local governments with their digital transition, applying a multi-level governance strategy to help build skills and capabilities to develop, procure and effectively use digital technologies in an ethical and inclusive way to make sure that no one is left behind. Our programme includes the first United Nations Innovation technology Accelerator for Cities in Hamburg (UNITAC-Hamburg), a digital rights governance framework for local and regional governments, the challenge-driven methodology and a broad range of initiatives in digital transformation and governance centred on people.
International guidelines on people-centred smart cities
At the second session of the United Nations Habitat Assembly in June 2023 in Nairobi, Kenya , 193 countries requested UN-Habitat to develop international guidelines on people-centred smart cities through
Resolution HSP/HA.2/Res.1.
The guidelines will serve as a non-binding framework for developing national and local smart city regulations, plans and strategies, to ensure that digital urban infrastructure and data contribute to making cities and human settlements sustainable, inclusive and prosperous and respectful of human rights. The guidelines development process has started and is expected to be finalized in 2025.
UNITAC Hamburg
The
United Nations Innovation Technology Accelerator for Cities
in Hamburg (UNITAC Hamburg), Germany, was established to address the potential of digital technologies, data and innovation to contribute to sustainable urban development. The Accelerator uses innovation, prototyping and applied research methodologies to develop innovative solutions that accelerate the achievement of the
Sustainable Development Goals
related to cities and urbanization.
Playbook Series
This new series of playbooks is a key normative component of UN-Habitat’s People Centred-Smart Cities flagship programme that aims to empower local governments to take a multi-stakeholder approach to digital transformation that realises sustainability, inclusivity, prosperity and human rights for the benefit of all.
Digital Rights
The People Centred-Smart Cities flagship programme supports national and local governments with their digital transition, applying a multi-level governance strategy to help build skills and capacity to develop, procure and effectively use digital technologies in an ethical, inclusive and sustainable way to make sure that no one is left behind.
Challenge-driven Innovation
The People Centred-Smart Cities Programme applies challenge-driven innovation approaches to identify issues and challenges faced locally by cities and matching them with innovative and smart solutions from the private sector. We partner with different stakeholders to develop collaborative projects to accelerate innovations with the potential to solve societal challenges and contribute to the SDGs and the New Urban Agenda.
Compendium of people-centred practices
A collection of innovative solutions (tools, mobile applications, digital platforms, reports, trainings, guidelines, etc.) that contribute to improving quality of life in cities and regions. These solutions are developed around the world at the national and local levels by government agencies, international institutions, NGOs, research institutions, private companies, etc.
Our experts
Edlam Yemeru
Chief of Knowledge and Innovation Branch
yemeru@un.org
Aline Machado de Matta
Head of UNITAC
Abdinassir Shale Sagar
Programme Management Officer, UNITAC
Isabel Wetzel
Programme Management Officer
isabel.wetzel@un.org
Roberta Maio
Digital Rights and Inclusion Officer
roberta.maio@un.org
Livia Schaeffer Nonose
Technology and Innovation Expert
livia.schaeffernonose@un.org
Hazel Kuria
Project Officer
hazel.kuria@un.org
Events
Smart City Expo World Congress
November 15th, 2022
November 17th, 2022
Location:
Barcelona
Discover The agenda
Highlighted Publications
Technical Report
World Smart Cities Outlook 2024
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Toolkits, Manuals and Guides
Innovation and digital technology to re-imagine Participatory Budgeting as a tool for building social resilience
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Technical Report
Mixed reality for public participation in urban and public space design - Towards a new way of crowdsourcing more inclusive smart cities
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Toolkits, Manuals and Guides
Mainstreaming human rights in the digital transformation of cities – A guide for local governments
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Brochure
UN-Habitat Innovation: Current projects, initiatives and partnerships
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Toolkits, Manuals and Guides
AI for Spatial Mapping and Analysis: GeoAI Toolkit for Urban Planners
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Toolkits, Manuals and Guides
A Step-by-Step Guide for a People-Centred Smart City Strategy: A Playbook for National, Regional, and Local Governments
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Technical Report
Future Cities Advisory Outlook 2020: Urban Technologies in China
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News and Stories
Featured Stories & Videos
Story
13 April 2021
Four cities invited for the climate smart cities challenge
Story
31 March 2021
UN-Habitat  report  calls  for cities post-pandemic to lead the way to a fairer, greener, healthier future
Featured Stories & Videos
Story
11 February 2021
Youth in Gaza Strip use Minecraft to design safe, inclusive public spaces
Story
22 October 2020
“Developing National Urban Policies: Ways forward to Green and Smart Cities” book launched
Story
6 August 2020
Planet Smart City partners with UN-Habitat on slum upgrading initiatives in Kenya
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