UNDP, Hilton Foundation launch new platform to support smart, inclusive cities

Published by : Industrial Automation

New York, 26 September 2019—The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, and partners today launched City2City.Network, a new platform aimed at helping cities manage challenges strategically—and learn from each other.

City2City.Network will facilitate a forum to find solutions to contemporary urban challenges and promote leadership, learning, and innovation. Administered by UNDP and launched alongside the 74^th United Nations General Assembly, it will focus on areas such as digital transformation, energy and climate change, resilience, governance, the informal economy, and municipal financing for development.

“The City2City Network is born out of the need to connect, share, and innovate towards socially inclusive, resource-efficient, and sustainable cities. It will capitalize on UNDP’s network of Accelerator Labs operating across 60 countries to further experimentation to solve urban development problems,” Mourad Wahba, UNDP’s Acting Associate Administrator, said.

With the world rapidly urbanizing, city administrators will play a crucial role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a time-bound roadmap agreed by all 193 UN member States in 2015. At least 110 of 169 SDG targets will require direct engagement of cities and local authorities.

Some 70 million people migrate to cities globally every year. By 2050, the world’s urban population is projected to reach 70 percent of total population—up from 54 percent today. Cities also produce more than 70 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and use 80 percent of the world’s energy. Many fast-growing cities struggle to meet surging demand for services and infrastructure, worsening social and geographic segregation.

City2City.network will help cities share experiences and innovative solutions and access cutting-edge knowledge to help build inclusive and smart urban communities.

It will serve as a peer-learning mechanism across regions and engage the private sector, civil society, and development partners, offering tools and diagnostics to support planning and SDG implementation at the local level.