Page 12 - Guide for smart and sustainable city leaders: Envisioning sustainable digital transformation

Guide for smart and sustainable city leaders: Envisioning sustainable digital transformation

1 Introduction

As the epicentre of human activity, cities continue to face socio-economic and environmental
pressures that exert pressure on the ageing urban infrastructure.

Currently, nearly 55 per cent of the world’s population inhabit urban areas. This percentage is
expected to increase to 68 per cent by 2050. Additionally, rural-to-urban migration in search
of employment and better living conditions could contribute nearly 2.5 billion more people to
urban areas by 2050. (World Urbanization Prospects, 2018).

As cities generate more than 80 per cent of global GDP, they are considered to be the main
engines of global economic growth. On the flipside, cities also consume two thirds of global
energy consumption and account for more than 70 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions
(World Bank, 2020).

Growing urban populations and depleting resources, along with the negative impact of urban
operations on the environment, has brought about the need to upgrade the city infrastructure
across verticals including mobility, disability, health care, education, energy, manufacturing
and agriculture, among others, with the aim of ensuring an improved quality of life (QoL) for
the inhabitants.

In this context, recent advancements in technology have slowly introduced the benefits of
utilizing emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI),
digital twin, blockchain, and IMT-2020/5G, along with more accessible data management
platforms to create a reliable, accessible, robust and resilient smart ecosystem, which can serve
as an interface for government-to-inhabitants interactions and support the seamless operation
of basic services.

Regarding the use of digital tools within cities, it should be acknowledged that many projects
apply technology uncritically, and do not take a crucial human-centred approach into enough
consideration. Indeed, many smart cities initiatives miss their goals of human development by
focusing on digitalization instead of its people’s real needs and uses.

Leveraging these emerging technologies has the potential to help cities to align their
urban planning strategies to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and drive digital
transformation. By enhancing the infrastructure for the provision of urban services, the process
of digital transformation is able to create an atmosphere in cities that is favourable to supporting
data collection, the adoption of new and emerging technologies across sections and the
adoption of new business models to create a new socio-economic climate that is eco-friendly
and sustainable, so minimizing the impact on the environment.

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