Guiding principles for artificial intelligence in cities

The U4SSC Deliverable on Guiding principles for artificial intelligence in cities provides a broad set of suggested principles, enablers, governance methods, policy instrument alternatives and a simple methodology for instilling AI principles in cities.

The U4SSC Deliverable on Guiding principles for artificial intelligence in cities is complemented by the following case studies:

Published in February 2024


Reference framework for integrated management of an SSC

The U4SSC developed Reference framework for integrated management of an SSC supports cities in identifying strategic, operational, and connectivity needs for integrated Smart Sustainable City management. It covers basic principles, critical success factors, risks, and a high-level methodology for urban digital infrastructure implementation. It also addresses GovStack Initiative’s Building Blocks alignment, transformation elements, and city technicians’ needs to assess digital transformation and fulfill citizens’ demands while adhering to regulatory requirements.

Published in July 2023


Procurement guidelines for smart sustainable cities

The Guidelines support city officials and their collaborators to embrace digital commercial approaches that support achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By looking more broadly and holistically across the full public spending lifecycle of digital transformation, the Guidelines support improving the well-being of our people and our planet, today and for future generations. This includes focusing relentlessly on users, and delivering outcomes that address the problems that get in the way of meeting users’ needs. Achieving this means leveraging smart and sustainable public procurement to improve public policy, governance, transparency, and accountability.

Published in May 2023


Compendium of practices on innovative financing for smart sustainable cities projects

The compendium provides a practical insight on the types of projects that can  improve sustainability and smartness of a city, combined with ideas on how they can be financed.  Given the focus on financing in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, innovative financing  of urban development projects is critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)  globally.

Published in January 2023


Smart tourism: A path to more secure and resilient destinations

​This report is oriented towards demonstrating how technologies and the process of digitization are powerful tools for moving towards a tourism industry capable of ensuring its resilience, competitiveness, and sustainability in any scenario.

Published in October 2022


Redefining smart city platforms: Setting the stage for Minimal Interoperability Mechanisms

​This report provides guidance to governments and cities at all levels – with a focus on the local and regional – on setting up smart city platforms, as well as on procuring the requisite elements for building them. It also illustrates the current state of the art of interoperable smart city platforms, and provides recommendations for technical specifications.

Published in September 2022


Smart public health emergency management and ICT implementations

​This report on Smart public health emergency management and ICT implementations explores the context of public health and the importance of active surveillance mechanisms in the urban ecosystem to enable emerging communications for public health disasters and the incorporation of IoT, AI and data-driven frameworks to provide timely responses to epidemics and pandemics, while implementing generic public health operational processes derived from the methodologies adopted for past crises.

Published in December 2021


Compendium of survey results on integrated digital solutions for city platforms around the world

​This Compendium of survey results on integrated digital solutions for city platforms around the world presents the experience of cities, communities and municipalities participating in the U4SSC initiative in developing their smart city strategies, the governance of smart projects, and the principal role of a smart city platform in contributing to improving the lives of their citizens.​

Published in December 2021


Digital solutions for integrated city management and use cases

​This report on Digital solutions for integrated city management and use cases provides a global perspective on how city platforms facilitate more efficient and effective control of public infrastructure and services, improve economic efficiencies, enable rapid development of new or complex services and play a critical role in the overall digital transformation of urban areas. An accompanying Compendium has also been published, which underscores the survey results provided by cities that have collaborated describing their transformation experience through the use of city platforms.

Published in December 2021


See more U4SSC deliverables

Guidelines on tools and mechanisms to finance smart sustainable cities projectsAugust 2021Read onlineDownload
Simple ways to be smartMarch 2021Read onlineDownload
Blockchain for smart sustainable citiesNovember 2020Read onlineDownload
Accelerating city transformation using frontier technologiesSeptember 2020Read onlineDownload
U4SSC Brochure: A UN initiativeJune 2020Read onlineDownload
A Guide to Circular Cities
The Guide for Circular Cities is complemented by the following case studies:
Energy Efficiency in Buildings [Download]
City Solid Waste Management [Download]
Affordable Housing and Social Inclusion [Download]
Urban Mobility [Download]
Re-use of Consumer Goods and Tools Loaning​ [Download]
Reducing Food Waste [Download]
Participatory Urban Planning [Download]
Circularity to Promote Local Businesses and Digitization​ [Download]
June 2020Read onlineDownload
City Science Application Framework
The report includes the following case studies on city science application:
– ​Air quality management i​n Sout​​hern California, USA [Download]
Smart Dubai Happiness Meter in Dubai, United Arab Emirates [Download]
– ​Crime prediction for more agile policing in cities – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil [Download]
Data driven energy savings in the Hyperdome shopping centre in Queensland, Australia​​ [Download]
– ​Fine dust filtration in Stuttgart, Germany [Download]
– ​Smart Dubai – Rashid – City Concierge [Download]
​​​Identifying the cascading effects on vital objects during flooding [Download]
Unlocking the p​ote​ntial of trust-based AI for city science and smart cities [Download]​
October 2019Read onlineDownload
Connecting cities and communities with the Sustainable Development GoalsSeptember 2017Read onlineDownload
Enhancing innovation and participation in smart sustainable citiesSeptember 2017Read onlineDownload
Implementing SDG11 by connecting sustainability policies and urban-planning practices through ICTsSeptember 2017Read onlineDownload
Collection Methodology for Key Performance Indicators for Smart Sustainable CitiesSeptember 2017Read onlineDownload