The Panel of Speakers and Discussants of the Networking Event on Smart City Strategies and Data Revolution for Sustainable Development
The World e-Governments Organization of Cities and Local Governments (WeGO) and the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements (KRIHS) successfully organized a networking event on how smart city strategies and data can make cities not only more efficient, but also more sustainable and equitable in Habitat III, the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development. The networking event on “Smart City Strategies and Data Revolution for Sustainable Development” was held on October 18, 16:30-18:30 in Room R11 of the Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana, Benjamín Carrión in Quito, Ecuador. The Networking Event focused on the Asia-Pacific and American experience on Smart Cities and Big/ Open Data Innovations and was supported by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), World Bank, United Cities and Local Governments Asia Pacific (UCLG ASPAC), UN-Habitat, Pulse Lab Jakarta, Uraia Platform, and the UCLG Digital Committee of Knowledge-based Cities.
More than 100 participants took part in the Networking Event, where experts from different fields gave their views and opinions on how to build more sustainable cities with smart city strategies and data-based technology. Some of the main points highlighted in the session include:
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- Technology should be made accessible particularly to low-income and vulnerable groups to overcome the digital divide.
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- Effective governance framework among governments, private sector, civil society, and other stakeholders must be built so that ICT technology may be used sustainably.
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- Developing customized smart city strategies especially for cities in developing countries where digital infrastructure is lacking is difficult as other urban infrastructure still needs to be developed. Sometimes simple techniques are more effective than sophisticated and costly approaches done by bigger cities.
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- Smart city by smart citizens. Smart cities further evolve through the participation and feedback of citizens; hence communication and participation of citizens are important.
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- Role of local government leaders is important. Long term vision and capacity of local government are also essential for producing tangible results over changing political structures.
Presentations
– Unlocking the potential of ICT for smart cities and data-driven sustainable cities – Mr. Gary Fowlie
– Smart City Development in South Korea: Lessons from 4 Korean Cities – Dr. Sang Keon Lee
– Smart City Strategies in Latin American Countries – Mr. Victor Vergara
– Building Inclusive Innovation in Pittsburgh – Ms. Debra Lam