Page 12 - Implementing ITU-T International Standards to Shape Smart Sustainable Cities: The Case of Dubai

Implementing ITU-T International Standards to Shape Smart Sustainable Cities – The Case of Dubai

which will eventually allow for the benchmarking of feasible and efficient smart city practices
for the future through a Smart Sustainable City Index.
Dubai’s commendable willingness to engage in the process of data collection, data verification,
and feedback has provided significant inputs to review and improve, where required,
Recommendations ITU-T Y.4901/L.1601 and ITU-T Y.4902/L.1602. This study is focussed on
learning from the Dubai experience, based on a comprehensive understanding of the city’s
transition to a smart city, obtained through extensive description and analysis of that transition
taken as a whole and in its context.
In effect, this case study highlights the crucial importance of the Dubai smart city pilot project
to the future implementation of the ITU KPIs on a global scale. Some of the main challenges and
opportunities in reporting the KPIs will also be examined in this case study for the benefit of
aspiring smart cities. This case study also emphasizes on the importance of this pilot project in
the development of a “Global Smart Sustainable Cities Index” together with other 15 United
Nations agencies and programmes.

Section 1 provides the scope of the study based on the first year of Dubai’s smart city pilot
project with ITU. Some of the aspects covered by this case study are Dubai’s smart city vision,
Dubai’s smart city activities, identification of the improvement opportunities in processes
conducted within the pilot project and providing suggestions to aspiring smart cities based on
the experience in Dubai.
Section 2 explores the history of ITU’s smart sustainable city activities, including the origin of
associated ITU Recommendations. This Section also provides a brief overview of the ITU
dimensions that are used to categorize the key performance indicators related to Smart
sustainable cities.

This is followed by Section 3 which focuses on the main elements of the Dubai case study. Before
examining Dubai’s smart city voyage, this section begins with a concise introduction of Dubai’s
geography and certain important demographic facts. The section describes Dubai's smart city
vision, strategy, and governance model for becoming a smart sustainable city and the happiest
city in the world. This promising setting makes Dubai an exemplary location to test the KPIs
included in Recommendations ITU-T Y.4901/L.1601 and ITU-T Y.4902/L.1602. The Smart Dubai
initiative’s extensive application of ICTs makes the city an ideal site for the use of the indicators
and their subsequent refinement. The broad scope of the Smart Dubai initiative makes for an
excellent field trial of ITU’s key performance indicators as one has the opportunity to trace the
efficacy of a wide range of ICT applications from inception to maturity.
Dubai has carried out the process with the support of several entities under the leadership of
Smart Dubai Office, which is the body in charge of driving the smart city agenda in the Emirate.
The role of this entity has been crucial in guaranteeing the success of this process, and in
identifying opportunities to improve the processes over the following years.
Section 3 subsequently provides a description of the methodology used to develop the case
study, including Dubai’s data collection process and the reporting process adopted for the KPIs.
The methodology contained in this section also focuses on the assessment, evaluation, and
verification process implemented throughout the pilot project. This Section also provides the
analysis of the first year of KPI data collection along with the assessment and verification
conducted in the City.
Section 3 then summarizes the various initiatives that Dubai has implemented to become a
smart sustainable city across the different city dimensions evaluated. These dimensions include:
ICTs, Environmental Sustainability, Productivity, Quality of Life, Equity and Social Inclusion, and
Physical Infrastructure.

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