Page 6 - ITU Smart Sustainable Cities, March 2021

6

Spotlight
on cities

City challenges range from
growing inequalities, urban sprawl,
pollution and associated health “A smart sustainable city is an innovative city that
issues, to the burgeoning impact uses information and communication technologies
of climate change. Many of these and other means to improve quality of life, efficiency
challenges further exacerbate one of urban operation & services, and competitiveness,
another, leading to a synergistic while ensuring that it meets the needs of present and
cycle of issues within the urban future generations with respect to economic, social,
domain. In the wake of the environmental as well as cultural aspects.”
COVID-19 pandemic cities will
continue to grapple with the
widening socio-economic gaps for Recommendation ITU-T Y.4900
the foreseeable future.

With over 66 per cent of the What does it mean to be
population expected to live
in urban areas by 2050, cities a Smart Sustainable City?
need to reimagine the way in
which resources and services are A smart sustainable city (SSC) places emphasis on the need for
managed and delivered to improve cities to be sustainable (resilient and inclusive), in addition to being
the sustainability and efficiency of
services, mitigate climate crisis and smart, i.e. digitally capable. At the core of the smart sustainable city
environmental risks, and safeguard ecosystem, lies an ICT infrastructure for the provision of services
the well-being of every citizen. and facilitation of effective decision-making.

To curb the negative impacts of To be acknowledged as smart and sustainable, cities and
urbanization and climate change, a communities are encouraged to take a human-centric approach
methodological shift encapsulating to urban development; one that takes human values into
innovative solutions in urban
policies is essential. With the aim consideration when deploying digital and technological solutions.
of addressing cross-cutting issues
in the sphere of sustainability,
cities are increasingly embracing
technologies to carry out their
operations to cater to the needs
of their inhabitants without
compromising on the interests of
the future generations.