Page 7 - Implementing ITU-T International Standards to Shape Smart Sustainable Cities: The Case of Dubai

Our cities host the majority of the world’s people. These cities are
our main driver of economic output, and they are also our main
source of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
Cities will be a key battleground in our fight for environmental
sustainability. This is very evident to decision-makers, with the
development of Smart Sustainable Cities fast becoming a key policy
point to administrations worldwide.
Smart Sustainable Cities will contribute to the achievement of
Goal 11 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals: to “Make
cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”. And as part of the
New Urban Agenda adopted by the UN Conference on Housing
and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III), countries have
committed to “adopting a smart-city approach that makes use of
opportunities from digitalization, clean energy and technologies,
as well as innovative transport technologies”.

It is crucial that the ICT infrastructure of a Smart Sustainable City ensures openness and
interoperability, and this can only be achieved with coordinated adherence to common standards.
ITU-T Study Group 20 develops international standards to enable the coordinated development of
IoT technologies, including machine-to-machine communications and ubiquitous sensor
networks. This work is supporting the emergence of a shared, integrated data ecosystem that will
enable us to use data-driven insight to encourage sustainable urban development.
Our pilot project to implement the ITU-standardized Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Smart
Sustainable Cities is a valuable complement to our technical work. This project will ensure that
ITU’s refinement of these indicators is undertaken on the basis of cities' experiences with their
implementation.
Dubai was the world’s first city to join this pilot project, and this case study is example of Dubai’s
will to share its smart-city experience with the international community. The next phase of ITU’s
collaboration with Dubai will aim to ensure that ITU’s KPIs offer valuable assistance in measuring
our progress towards the achievement of the SDGs and abiding by the guidelines set out by the
New Urban Agenda.

ITU is also providing a neutral venue to discuss how policy innovation could drive the successful
development of Smart Sustainable Cities.
This policy debate is hosted by the “United for Smart Sustainable Cities global initiative”, a new
ITU initiative undertaken in partnership with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.
This initiative provides a platform to advocate for public policy to ensure that ICTs play a definitive
role in building Smart Sustainable Cities. This initiative was launched in May this year and is already
supported by 16 United Nations agencies.
Technical experts are invited to contact ITU to learn more about how you could participate in our
standards work, and we would also be glad to explore how your city could become part of our KPI
pilot project. Our U4SSC initiative welcomes participation from all decision-makers contributing to
sustainable urban development, and we would be pleased to discuss with you how your
organization could play a part in this important advocacy work.

Dr Chaesub Lee
Director, ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau