Page 64 - International Standards to Shape Smart Sustainable Cities: The Case of Moscow

Implementing ITU-T International Standards to shape Smart Sustainable Cities - The case of Moscow

Measures adopted by Moscow Suggested action(s) for Moscow and other
aspiring Smart Sustainable Cities

Moscow regularly supports the 98% of all of the It is recommended that aspiring smart sustainable
city’s enterprises that identify as SMEs, by offering cities similarly invest in their SMEs, as they are the
free programmes, courses, webinars and training backbone of any city’s economy and can offer the
sessions that empower SME owners and highest potential for investment returns.
operators with new business related knowledge. Research shows that a city’s continued growth is
These range from the very basics of running a based, in part, on its ability to promote knowledge
business, to how to enter foreign markets, to ways creation and sharing. The Centre for Cities found
to enter the procurement market, to ways to that a wide base of SMEs results in “knowledge-
market the business efficiently, to dealing with intensive economies that benefit from
regulatory authorities. relationships between firms of related but varied
For example, English language training was industries that look to reinvent and innovate.
offered to the service industry and SMEs ahead of Cities which have strengths in these sectors
the 2018 Soccer World Cup, and rent savings at benefit not only from the growth of these
co-working and high-tech shared use centres are industries, but also from improved productivity in
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on offer. other firms.”
Additionally, aspiring smart sustainable cities
should foster growth among SMEs in the highly
skilled, innovative sectors by ensuring that:
 SMEs are able to access skills and knowledge;
 SMEs have access to high performing digital
infrastructure;
 SMEs are supported to trade internationally;
and
 suitable premises (are provided) for sole
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traders and expanding small businesses.
Smart city systems tend to generate large volumes Appropriate measures must be taken by every city
of data, including sensitive data containing the looking to employ ICTs (and the resulting data) to
personal information of citizens. Within its Smart ensure that collected data are secured and
City strategy, Moscow recognizes that data protected by law, in order to thwart misuse of
security is critical to ensuring that citizens’ data information and unauthorized access.
are protected, and that smart systems and This is key to engendering trust in, and swift
applications are available and can operate as adoption of, ICT-based service delivery systems, in
needed. order to capitalize fully on the efficiency and over-
Mr. Andrey Belozerov, Strategy and Innovations time cost savings that ICT-based solutions
Advisor to the CIO of Moscow has stated that, represent.
“data security is protected by hardware, software, The use of blockchain, AI-based bot protection
audits, data transfer channels and labour and multi-factor authentication to defend the
contracts stipulating that if a government city’s digital infrastructure should also be
employee misuses someone’s data, they can be explored.
penalized or dismissed. Cyber security is
mandated by high safety standards set by national
and regional government, but the city is also
testing its processes to identify and rectify
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weaknesses.”

67 www.mos.ru/en/news/item/40739073/
68 Centre for Cities (2015)
69 Centre for Cities (2015)

70 Simpson (2017)

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