Page 11 - U4SSC Blockchain for smart sustainable cities

1. Introduction

1.1 Context and background

Many cities around the world are facing acute challenges in managing rapid urbanization. These challenges
range from ensuring adequate housing and infrastructure to support the growing population in overcoming
the environmental impact of urban sprawl, and reducing vulnerability to disasters (natural, man-made or
epidemiologic). Furthermore, cities as well as communities have faced substantial challenges including
socio-economic inequality, poverty, unemployment, poor environmental conditions and high levels of
greenhouse gas emissions. These challenges persist and are expected to be magnified by the impact of the
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Estimates show that two-thirds of the world’s population
will live in cities by the year 2050, up from 55 per cent today. As a result of the increase in population
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coupled with the expansion of production and manufacturing, cities will consume significant resources and
require more efficient and more sustainable services. If the provision of such services to cities is not made
in a controlled manner, the urban areas and surrounding environments will suffer, hampering the potential
of cities to drive growth, innovation and prosperity for themselves and the country at large.
The potential for exacerbation of the problems affecting cities makes them significant vectors for actions
to tackle urgent challenges such as poverty, inequality, pollution, mitigation and adaption to climate
change. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations aim to address these challenges.
The density and economic concentration of cities mean that they need to function effectively for all the
sustainable development goals to be met since they are sites of concentrated human activity and residence.
To this end, Sustainable Development Goal 11, to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient
and sustainable, reflects the main targets related to overcoming the aforementioned urban challenges.
A centrepiece of efforts to reach this goal is imperative to make our cities more sustainable through better
utilization of technology. Within the concept of smart cities, solutions are to be found to make cities
and communities more efficient, more technologically advanced, greener, and more socially inclusive. In
this context, one of the key definitions for Smart sustainable cities (SSC) developed by the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) is as follows: 2

“[…]an innovative city that uses information and communication technologies (ICTs) and other
means to improve quality of life, efficiency of urban operation and services and competitiveness,
while ensuring that it meets the needs of present and future generations with respect to economic,
social, environmental, as well as cultural aspects..” (Recommendation ITU-T Y.4900).

ICTs and emerging technologies promise effective decision-making tools and opportunities to improve
efficiency across services and sectors. The application of new technologies for service delivery and
infrastructure development in smart cities will generate information for the planning, monitoring and
control of resource consumption, making resources available in these areas and to the sections of the
population with the greatest need.

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