Welcome to the United Nations
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.
As part of the Expert Discussion Series, UNDESA's Division for Social Policy and Development (DSPD) will organize an event on "Accessible Cities United: Enabling Future Cities to be Smart" on 31 October from 10 to 11.30am in Conference Room 11 at United Nations Headquarters in New York.
Celebrating the World Cities Day 2017 ‘Innovative Governance, Open Cities’, this event will serve as a platform for experts to share their knowledge and identify solutions to the challenges smart cities will face in offering accessible infrastructure, services and information. This event will also discuss solutions to challenges that future cities may face in making infrastructure, social services, information and safe environments inclusive and thus accessible for all. Prudent development of policies and infrastructures to create the types of environment that avoid urban poverty and promote well-being will play a crucial role.
For more information about this event, please download the flyer of the event.
Meet our Speakers
Message of the UN Human Settlement Programme (UN-Habitat) Executive Director Dr. Joan Clos
Presentations:
- Towards inclusive, accessible and resilient societies Accessible Cities United by Roberto Ciambetti, President of the Regional Council of Veneto, Italy