Page 7 - U4SSC Simple ways to be smart

The smart and sustainable interventions selected are characterized by ease of implementation,
low cost, and proven benefits. They are not intended to be a prescriptive checklist of smart
interventions that cities ought to undertake. Rather they are intended to inspire cities with some
possibilities of what can be achieved using smart technologies and ideas. The hope is that the
selected interventions help a wide range of cities and settlements to be part of a strategic and
holistic process of development towards the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

The cases identified fall into five categories that illustrate the range of benefits that can result from
smart interventions. There are cases that (1) improve city administration, (2) have environmental
benefits, (3) change the role of people in the city, (4) improve the experience of living in the city
and (5) improve the resilience of the city. These five areas of city improvement are discussed in
Chapter 3, however, they are not intended to be the only areas in which cities can get smarter.
These areas highlighted aim to illustrate simple ways to be smart and to inspire cities into thinking
about how their specific problems can be addressed in a smart manner.

The report includes a simple framework that encourages cities to evaluate city problems in terms
of information and communication components, and the potential for improvement that comes
from being smarter in these two areas. It also briefly delves into the key factors relevant for the
implementation of smart initiatives. The target audience for this report is local government officers
responsible for city planning and management. Other key smart city stakeholders are also expected
to benefit from the core themes addressed in this report.

U4SSC: Simple ways to be smart v