Designed for People: How Cities Can Leverage Technology and Innovation for Inclusive and Sustainable Development

We are living in challenging and uncertain times. This year, one in four people in developing economies will be poorer than before the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only was 2023 the hottest year on record, but it was also a year of more conflict and displacement than at any point since World War II. Global inequality has risen while efforts to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are significantly off-track. At the same time, technologies such as Generative AI have raised both hopes and uncertainties over their transformative potential. Cities, as local and national engines of innovation and economic growth, will be critical in driving sustainable development. Working across more than 120 countries and territories, the UNDP has seen that technology and innovation in cities, when applied with an inclusive and peoplecentred approach, can amplify the central role that cities play in the lives and livelihoods of billions of people around the world. However, there are important, persistent, and growing disparities in the accessibility and application of innovation. These disparities demand a wholesale re-evaluation of how we leverage innovation and technology for urban development. Paradigm Shift in Urban Innovation and Technology Often, technology is seen as a discrete solution to complex urban challenges—a panacea to tackle all city challenges. However, cities are increasingly recognising that technology is one tool in the urban development toolkit—one that requires a deeper understanding of the problems that urban residents are facing, and engagement with how technology can play a role in addressing these urban issues. Central to the consideration of technology is the need to establish a common vision on the path forward, one which ensures that any technology used meets the needs and aspirations of the people it aims to serve. We need to accelerate a paradigm shift that moves beyond being led by technology, and instead focus on where it can have the greatest value. Such a people-centred perspective requires a broad urban toolkit that includes high-tech, lowtech, or even no-tech solutions, such as naturebased solutions. This reflects the diversity of cities, their populations and priorities.

source :

https://www.clc.gov.sg/docs/default-source/urban-solutions/urbsol24pdf/05_opinion_marcos-neto.pdf