Mexico City announces open-source GIS at LASCN Workshop on digital urban cooperation
November 25, 2021
SEOUL – City officials from three major Latin American cities were invited to a knowledge-sharing workshop for the Latin America Smart Cities Network (LASCN) to discuss urban planning and potential cooperation on the topic.
This LASCN Workshop was the first event organized by WeGO following the introduction of the LASCN network in June 2021. The LASCN is envisioned as an open-ended regional network of city and other local governments across Latin America that will serve as a platform to exchange knowledge and foster cooperation on smart city development in the region. The initiative is supported by WeGO’s Latin America Regional Office in Mexico City.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS), a key component of urban planning, was selected as the topic of this webinar following Latin American stakeholders’ expressions of interest in the LASCN Pre-Workshop post-event survey.
WeGO’s Secretary General Jung Sook Park opened the workshop by thanking all the regional actors that have shown support to the initiative so far. Indeed, following the June event, WeGO has met with nine embassies, three ministerial delegations from Costa Rica, Brazil, and Ecuador, and received interest from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI). Ecuadorian Vice-minister of Foreign Affairs Cesar Montaño also expressed his support for the LASCN and its goals, which are in line with Ecuador’s national priorities, in his remarks
Next, WeGO corporate members Data Alliance and FATOS Corporation gave a brief introduction to the topic of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and explained their experience in implementing GIS, particularly in Thailand.
City officials from Mexico City, São Paulo, and Lima then presented their respective GIS systems with all their specificities. In particular Mexico City also announced that it is opening its GIS to other cities in the region looking to implement a similar system.
The city’s system is special because it consolidates data that previously was gathered and kept separately by the local government. With currently over 30 different layers of information and allowing citizens to perform more than 50 different procedures, Mexico City’s GIS is a great example of how cities can make their information more accessible and transparent in a progressive way.
Any local government interested in the solution can contact WeGO to be put in touch with Mexico City.
WeGO is currently in discussions with regional stakeholders to organize more regional activities next year, including a feasibility study and training program and other knowledge-sharing activities. Any stakeholder interested in joining the LASCN and its activities are invited to express their interest by filling out the form at the bottom of this webpage.
To watch the webinar and download the presentation materials, please visit this webpage.