Page 47 - International Standards to Shape Smart Sustainable Cities: The Case of Moscow

Implementing ITU-T International Standards to shape Smart Sustainable Cities - The case of Moscow

built, upon without restriction. Open data facilitate government transparency, accountability
and public participation in government by making statistics on key urban infrastructures
available to the public. Open data also enable economic growth when the private sector utilizes
these data for the purpose of innovation. This plays a key role in fostering the development of
new applications and services for the city’s inhabitants.
Moscow City Government recognized the importance of open data for innovation and
accountability. An open data portal (data.mos.ru) was launched in January 2013. At present,
more than 745 thematic datasets have been published on the portal, disclosing information on
over 315 000 objects of urban infrastructure.

Other widely reported and widely accessed datasets through the portal include education,
sports, health, and other additional key cultural and leisure areas. The data are presented in
tabular and cartographic form for Moscow residents (and other similar users), and in machine-
readable formats for developers. More than 30 mobile applications that utilize this data have
already been successfully developed for the public. Information on the portal is updated
regularly, and new socially important data is added based on users’ requests.

E-Services

E-government, defined by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD) as, “the use of information and communications technologies (ICTs), and particularly the
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Internet, to achieve better government” aims to improve the relationship between the people
and their government through advanced electronic and mobile services. It makes public services
more effective, accessible and responsive to people’s needs. It also encourages public
participation in the decision-making process, making public institutions more transparent and
accountable.
Furthermore, the United Nations General Assembly has recognized the role of ICTs in promoting
sustainable development and supporting public policies and service delivery. The General
Assembly has specifically affirmed the “potential of e-government in promoting transparency,
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accountability, efficiency and citizen engagement in public service delivery.”
OECD countries have also pledged their support to improve online access to information and
government service quality by integrating ICT solutions into current service networks, enabling
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the delivery of services to citizens and businesses on their terms and at their convenience.
Moscow was the first Russian region to launch a website (as seen in Figure 21) where the public
can pay various fees (e.g. check and pay traffic tickets and utility bills) and obtain city services
(e.g. arrange a doctor's visit, top up a Troika card, sign up children for a club). Permits and
documents were migrated to the cloud, so allowing users to receive several services in one
package through the website. To date, Moscow has deployed over 200 e-services for citizens
that can be accessed online through desktop and mobile applications.

53 Field, et al. (2004)
54 United Nations E-government Survey 2016
55 OECD. Implementing E-Government in OECD Countries: Experiences and Challenges (Background
Paper).

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