Why cities need a seat at the digital table

With a decade of insights on smart city solutions, ITU and UN-Habitat invite cities to a groundbreaking UN Pavilion in Barcelona

By Cristina Bueti (ITU) and Edlam Yemeru (UN-Habitat)

Every day, mayors make decisions that shape whether a family finds an affordable home, whether a neighbourhood floods after a storm, and whether residents can reach public services without queuing for hours. Increasingly, those decisions depend on data, digital platforms and artificial intelligence (AI).

Yet the rules and standards behind these technologies are too often designed far from the people who live with the results. That is why, in 2016, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) launched United for Smart Sustainable Cities (U4SSC): to give cities a seat at the table.

Ten years on, that seat matters more than ever. 

But giving cities a seat at the digital table is only part of the challenge. The people most affected by urban decisions must also have a voice, particularly those whose homes, livelihoods and daily realities are often missing from official data. A people-centred smart city is one where technology responds to these realities, rather than overlooking them.

A combined UN offer

U4SSC is coordinated by ITU, UNECE and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), with the support of 19 other UN agencies and programmes. 

Since signing a Memorandum of Understanding in October 2025, ITU and UN-Habitat have stepped up joint work, from co-leading U4SSC work on people-centred smart cities to joint dialogues such as those held for World Cities Day.

The result: One coherent UN offer to cities, combining digital standards with urban and housing expertise. 

Together, the United Nations is connecting international digital standards with the realities of urban development: access to affordable housing, land and basic services, climate resilience, inclusive governance and the participation of communities. This partnership is about ensuring that technological innovation responds to the priorities of cities and the people who live in them.

But the real strength of the U4SSC partnership lies with its cities. 

Taking part offers:

• A people-centred approach: practical guidance to involve communities and civil society in digital transformation, identify who may be missing from urban data, and ensure that innovation responds to local priorities.

• A clear picture of progress: the U4SSC Key Performance Indicators, based on ITU standards and aligned with UN-Habitat’s Global Urban Monitoring Framework, are used by more than 350 cities to measure progress and compare notes.

• Guidance built on city experience, from digital twins to procurement and data sharing.

• A voice in global standards: through ITU-T Study Group 20 and its new Focus Group on AI for cities, local governments help shape what suppliers build.

• A network of peers, so that solutions travel and mistakes are made only once.

While use of data, digital platforms and AI for decision-making on urban issues is on the rise, the need to ensure their use meets the needs of residents remains paramount in a range of areas.

Digital tools help

Globally, more than a billion people live in slums or informal settlements around the world, often poorly represented in official data. 

Digital tools can help cities plan land and services, speed up permits and make informal settlements visible.

For helping boost climate resilience, early warning systems, digital twins and AI can help cities anticipate floods and heatwaves and keep essential services running if systems are secure, interoperable and work for everyone, including people offline.

Data, digital platforms and AI also have a role to play with public accountability. As cities increasingly use AI to inform decisions about housing, infrastructure and public services, human oversight becomes essential. Public authorities must remain accountable for these decisions, while residents need meaningful opportunities to question outcomes and participate in shaping how technologies are deployed.

 First-ever UN Pavilion

The partnership between ITU and UN-Habitat takes centre stage at the United Nations Pavilion at this year’s Smart City Expo World Congress, taking place in Barcelona, Spain from 3 to 5 November. This is the first-ever UN Pavilion at the conference and exhibition, happening annually in Barcelona since 2011.

ITU and UN-Habitat are leading the Pavilion programme with 18 partners from across the UN system and beyond. Twenty-seven sessions will bring mayors, ministers and industry together on the questions cities are asking now. 

 Questions like: 

• How do we integrate AI without losing public trust? 
• How can digital tools deliver affordable housing? 
• How do we build resilience to climate shocks and how do we pay for it?

U4SSC will also launch a series of new deliverables to help cities move faster towards a sustainable digital future. 

 Join us!

 Not yet working with U4SSC? 

 Visit the United Nations Pavilion to find out how your city can implement the U4SSC Key Perfomance Indicators, share a case study or help shape international standards on AI. 

 If you’re not in Barcelona, learn more online and feel free to reach out.

 The next decade of urban digital transformation should be written with cities, not for them. We’re excited to get started.

For more information:

United for Smart Sustainable Cities (U4SSC)

United Nations Pavilion programme

Contact: u4ssc@itu.int

Header image credit: Adobe stock/AI generated