How Ecuador’s capital merges technology, sustainability and social justice

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) help cities around the world analyse progress on sustainable development, adjust course when needed and keep moving in the right direction.

The indicators, based on standard Y.4903 from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), are promoted through a United Nations (UN) initiative, United for Smart Sustainable Cities, driven by ITU alongside 19 other UN partners.

Fernanda Racines, Vice Mayor of Ecuador’s capital, Quito, discusses how the city integrates technology, innovation and sustainability to improve people’s quality of life.

What is your long-term vision for Quito?

Our vision is for Quito to become a city that offers opportunities and promotes technological innovation and digital inclusion. We aim to make this a modern, safe and sustainable city that serves as a benchmark for Latin America. 

Our approach includes eradicating all forms of violence through a reweaving of the social fabric and protecting citizens, especially children, youth, the elderly and women, while ensuring that digital transformation benefits everyone. 

We want Quito to be a resilient city for all – a city that empowers people to achieve their dreams without limits.

What motivated Quito to carry out this KPI analysis?

The KPIs developed through the ITU-led project have allowed us to measure the city’s progress in key areas, such as sustainable mobility, digital connectivity, air quality, and efficiency in public service delivery. Quito is the first city in our country being validated as a smart and sustainable city under the U4SSC initiative.

The digital self-assessment tool supports our local government in aligning policies with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, especially those promoting innovation, sustainable infrastructure, and inclusive economic growth.

The process has helped us identify both challenges and new opportunities to make Quito a regional hub for urban innovation and smart governance.

Could you share some insight on the results of your KPI analysis?

Through the KPI analysis, we identified key areas for improvement, such as waste management, air quality, and broadband infrastructure, while recognizing major progress on various digital initiatives.

For instance:

• More than 920,000 residents now have access to free and secure Internet via municipal Wi-Fi hotspots that bridge the digital divide.

• Our new environmental complex will help us to achieve one of the highest solid waste recovery rates among Latin American cities – between 60 and 70 per cent. Plans are in place to build waste separation, organic waste treatment and power generation plants.   

• The KPIs confirm our city’s safe and high-quality water supply system. Currently, drinking water coverage is 98.9 per cent. Quito has 22 treatment plants, 7,800 km of water mains, and 6,000 km of sewer lines. Investment is also allocated to maintenance, renovation, and upgrading of the network, since many pipes have reached the end of life.

• Our new electronic payment platform allows residents to pay for public transport digitally, while a real-time mobility app will provide instant route and schedule information.  

• Access to high-quality education stands out in our KPI analysis as one of Quito’s strengths, with digitally supported municipal educational units serving more than 24,000 students.

• Our smart water systems ensure efficiency, resilience, and high-quality service delivery across the city.

• Since life expectancy is high among our residents, we offer 610 care centres for adults and seniors that support healthy ageing and promote mental health and social inclusion through connected services.  

Our KPI assessment also highlights Quito’s rich cultural and creative ecosystem, which remains central to our socio-economic development and digital economy.

How do international standards factor into Quito’s smart city strategy?

ITU standards for technologies enable us to design reliable, interoperable, and citizen-centred solutions. They guide the implementation of data platforms, connectivity frameworks, and smart infrastructure that deliver high-quality public services.

In combination with informed decision-making and efficient resource allocation, technical standards strengthen our ability to manage the city transparently and respond to citizens’ needs in real time.

In short, standards contribute to the positioning of Quito as a smart and sustainable city, supporting work that considers success stories from different cities around the world.

What is Quito’s vision for the future?

Quito has already assumed a leading role in smart and sustainable development in Latin America through data-driven solutions. We are pursuing balanced well-being through the convergence of digital technology, sustainability and social justice.

The Quito Metro boosts the economy, but it also brings people together, making this flagship project important to social development. Connecting Quito from north to south, our Metro averages 151,000 trips every day. We will keep expanding the network to create a high-quality, integrated public transport system that meets the needs of all 2.8 million Quito residents.

The economic impact of the Quito Metro has reached USD 147 million. Since its opening, the metro has had a multiplier effect on the local economy. In the tourism sector alone, 613 establishments have benefited, driving an 11.7 per cent increase in business licences.

We are also building a potable water treatment plant in Calderón, the country’s largest rural parish. With an investment of USD 130 million, this project will guarantee water supply for the 500,000 inhabitants of Calderón, Pomasqui, San Antonio and Calacalí.

We are working to ensure that the city’s development takes care of the most vulnerable and leaves no one behind. I would like to emphasize that more than 4,000 girls and boys have benefited from our social welfare policies.

Quito is also pioneering with Wawamor in Latin America – that’s a free application, offered in collaboration with UNICEF (the UN Children’s Fund), that helps provide early childhood care. In fact, it’s designed for mothers, fathers, caregivers, and all those involved in the raising of children from birth to six years old.

Through technology, data, and inclusive governance, Quito is building a city that is connected, equitable, and sustainable, turning today’s challenges into opportunities for innovation and well-being.

Our pledge to citizens, summarized in the Urban Development Plan 2024-2033 and the Quito 2034 Agreement (in Spanish only), commits to eradicating extreme poverty, promoting well-being and employment, ensuring safety, and consolidating Quito as a blue-green, smart, multicultural city guided by digital transformation and sustainability.

Dive deeper into Quito’s U4SSC city snapshot and KPI verification report.

Learn more about U4SSC.