With its extensive knowledge on urban development, UN-Habitat supports national and local governments to harness digital technologies by acquiring new skills and developing additional capacity, and advocates for the inclusion of marginalized and vulnerable groups to be included in smart cities and digital transformation processes. The People-centred Smart Cities Programme builds a strong case for financing innovation that aims at improving the lives of people living in cities, with a focus on the Global South and those left behind. 

International guidelines on people-centred smart cities

Member States agree on the need to fill global normative gaps in the domain of smart cities and digitalization and have committed to supporting the development of international guidelines. With Resolution HSP/HA.2/Res.1, UN-Habitat has been mandated to initiate the development of International Guidelines on People-centred Smart Cities through an inclusive consultative process. The guidelines, which will be developed by 2025, will serve as a non-binding framework for developing national and local smart city regulations, plans and strategies to ensure that digital urban infrastructure and data contribute to making cities and human settlements sustainable, inclusive, prosperous and respectful of human rights. 

UN-Habitat is conducting a global assessment on smart cities – the World Smart Cities Outlook – to serve as a factual bedrock for the upcoming guidelines. A global Expert Working Group, composed of experts nominated by Member States, serves as the primary advisory body for the development of the guidelines, which are expected to be available in 2025.

In carrying out this work, UN-Habitat is building on lessons learned and ongoing projects under the umbrella of the People-centred smart cities programme and beyond, tapping into the experience and knowledge of the partners UN-Habitat works with.

Expert Working Group

31 experts representing 25 countries nominated by Member States compose the Expert Working Group on the development of international guidelines on people-centred smart cities. The experts play a leading role in advising the Executive Director of UN-Habitat and fostering inclusive consultations during the preparation of the guidelines through both online and in-person consultations.

View the Experts

Activities

(Closed)

Timeline

Events

(Upcoming) 

1. Member States Consultation:  Review of the draft international guidelines on people-centred smart cities (UN-Habitat Headquarters, Nairobi, 17 February 2025) 

2. Resumed second session of the United Nations Habitat Assembly (UNHA, Nairobi, 29-30 May 2025) 

 (Past) 

1. Second session of the United Nations Habitat Assembly (5-9 June 2023) 

2. Expert Working Group online kick off (22-23 November 2023) 

3. Global Meetings with the Expert working group:

4. Expert Group Meeting 2 (Online, 26-27 September 2024):

5. Expert Group Meeting 3 (Online, 22-23 January 2025):    

6. Regional Meetings focusing on regional inputs for the preparation of the international guidelines: 

7. Stakeholders and thematic consultations: 

  • Civil society consultation, Civil Society Conference, Nairobi (9 May 2024) 
  • Academic consultation, hosted by UNITAC, Hamburg (18-20 June 2024) 
  • Local and Regional Governments, co-hosted with UCLG, WeGO, Eurocities, Smart City Expo World Congress (Online, 10 September 2024) 
  • Consultation with UN Agencies and International Organizations (Online, 25 September 2024) 
  • Private Sector Consultation, hosted by Carnegie, Paolo Alto, California (1-2 October 2024)

News

Resources

For more information, contact Ig-pcsc@un.org.