Accessible Smart Cities

Accessible Cities United: Enabling Future Cities to be Smart

Posted on October 19, 2017 by UNSDN 5

By 2030 more than 60% of the world’s population is projected to live in cities. Urban centers will face key challenges in ensuring that the needs of people living in hardship are met. As cities become smart, they must also provide equal access to the benefits of technological progress for vulnerable social groups and leave no one behind.

A key challenge faced by cities is to ensure the engagement of all people living in situations of hardship and to promote inclusivity. Smart cities in the future should meet the needs of vulnerable members among social groups such as families, persons with disabilities, indigenous people, older persons and youth and thus need to reinvent themselves in the way they communicate, plan and respond to the complex needs of their people. Technological and social innovation is allowing cities to explore solutions and create smarter and inter-connected communities that can enhance service delivery, improve citizen’s lives and reduce urban poverty. Innovation can be a catalyst for change and ensure that our cities and communities are resilient and inclusive for all people of all ages.