Smart Cities Digital and Climate Equity: Building Resilience for All

How can smart city solutions help address long standing structural problems in cities? This question is at the heart of any discussions about the value of the smart cities’ movement. It is a question that is becoming entwined with broader discussions about social divisions in cities, the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the need to adapt to climate change.

A growing number of cities are now framing their smart and sustainable city programs in terms of the need to deliver fair investments that bring benefits to all communities. As cities lay out programs to reduce the digital divide, ensure a just energy transition, and address long-term inequalities, there is a need to provide concrete and realistic plans that can demonstrate the role of technology in the creation of more equitable cities. Thinking about equity can drive innovation and help shift cities to more systemic perspectives that have long been advocated but are much harder to adopt at scale.

This report looks at how this focus on equity is shaping smart city programs and what it means for the future design, implementation, and use of smart city solutions. Recommendations are provided for technology providers, service partners, and other stakeholders.