Page 2 - U4SSC brochure

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Unlocking Cities of the Future:

The Road to Smart Sustainable Cities

Approximately 50% of the global population live in cities. By 2050, this figure is expected
to increase to 66% . This exponential increase in urban population will aggravate the
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complexities of the social fabric in cities, and makes charting a path to sustainability a
very urgent task.

Currently, the urban ecosystem is experiencing turmoil with increased urbanization,
pollution, overcrowding, climate change, outdated infrastructures, etc. These challenges
greatly hinder growth within the urban domain.

In view of the above, cities are increasingly embarking on the journey towards “smart
sustainable cities” (SSC) to mitigate urbanization problems. Urban stakeholders are
actively developing strategies and institutional policies directed towards the goal
of becoming “smart” and “sustainable” to manage resources more efficiently, while
addressing socio-economic development challenges and reducing inequalities.

As urban population increases, economic growth and development can only be
sustainable if humans are able to better manage resources, reduce waste and improve
access to information and communication technologies (ICTs). In view of this, the
concepts of “circular economy” and “information and knowledge society” should be at
the centre of smart sustainable city transitions.

As such, the urban planning sphere must incorporate a holistic view of the “smart

sustainable city” to achieve success with smart sustainable city transitions. Additionally,
while advancing on the global smart sustainable city dream, it is noted that issues
including knowledge gaps, limited finances, lack of coordination among state actors,
absence of monitoring tools, and unfavourable climatic conditions, prevent urban
stakeholders from developing sustainably and integrating effective design and
technologies.

In order to help cities close these gaps and overcome limitations, the United for Smart

Sustainable Cities (U4SSC) initiative was established in May 2016.

Since then, U4SSC has been exploring the various disciplinary areas of the dynamic
smart sustainable city ecosystem and developing integrative frameworks, guidelines
and strategies that can be used by local governments to envision smart sustainable city
initiatives and implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (Sustainable
Development Goals) and the New Urban Agenda .
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1 United Nations. World Urbanization Prospects. Retrieved from https://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/publications/files/
wup2014-highlights.pdf
2 Transforming our world: The 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development. Retrieved from https://sustainablede
velopment.un.org/content/documents/21252030%20Agenda%20for%20Sustainable%20Development%20web.
pdf
3 Quito Declaration on Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements for All. Retrieved from http://habitat3.org/%20
wp-content/uploads/NUA-English.pdf