Page 5 - U4SSC: City Science Application Framework

Executive Summary

The United for Smart Sustainable Cities (U4SSC) initiative is a leading platform for supporting smart
sustainable cities worldwide. The U4SSC is coordinated by the International Telecommunication
Union (ITU), the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the United Nations
Human Settlement Programme (UN-Habitat) along with the support of 14 United Nations agencies
and programmes and has developed strategic guidelines and tools that aim to assist prospective
smart sustainable cities in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The City Science Application Framework provides a four-step methodology for cities to solve their
pressing urban challenges. By using empirical evidence as the basis for evaluation, the city science
application framework offers a reliable and consistent way for cities to assess, prioritize and boost
their city applications.

The first section is a brief introduction to urbanization and its high-level challenges. The second
section provides an overview of the city science application framework. It defines city science and a
list of urban challenges that the framework can be applied to for devising potential solutions. It also
defines the scientific techniques and elements behind the framework.

The third section contains a list of city science stakeholders that are involved in city science
application. From the public sector, private sector, chamber of commerce, trade associations to
non-profit organizations, the academia, civil society, each stakeholder has a unique relationship with
city science, and they are important variables to the city science application framework. This section
explores the role of city science stakeholders along with a detailed description for each.

The fourth section contains a list of city science enablers that are involved in city science application.
City science enablers are policy tools and levers that a city can use to boost city science. They
include international standards and guidance, R&D programmes, laws and regulations, awareness
raising activities, financial incentives, entrepreneurship and start-up support and more. City science
enablers are another set of key variables for the city science application framework.

The fifth section outlines the city science application framework. It describes the four-steps
methodology that cities can follow to determine and implement city science solutions and assess
their impacts. These four steps consist of; first, assess the current city science applications status;
second, prioritize and determine city science applications; third, boost city science applications; and
fourth, assess projected city science applications impact.

The last section provides a list of case studies of city science application. Each case study
contains the challenge that the city is facing, the vision behind the city science application, the
implementation process of the application, and the result of its application. These case studies
illustrate the application of the city science framework and are useful in enhancing the readers’
understanding of the framework.

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