Page 8 - ITU Smart Sustainable Cities, March 2021

8

The UN Sustainable
Development

Goals

The 17 United Nations Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) are
an urgent call for action adopted
by 193 UN member states, to
chart the path for the universal
development agenda. These goals
form an indispensable part of
the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development, covering thematic
areas ranging from poverty
eradication to climate change
action, promoting gender equality, ITU-T standards and the SDGs
conservation of biodiversity and
pollution control – all of which are
fundamental to urban areas. ITU-T standards are crucial to accelerating the deployment of
the Internet of things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), digital
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable twin, blockchain and other frontier technologies in cities and
Development has also communities. They provide necessary guidance to build a trusted
underscored the transformative
potential of urbanization with a infrastructure capable of supporting a large number of digital
dedicated goal, SDG 11, revolving applications, overcoming silos in cities and aligning technologies,
on cities and communities, which to actualize global commitments under the Sustainable
serves as an important step to Development Goals, especially SDG 11: Sustainable Cities
empowering our cities. and Communities.

It also places emphasis on clime
action with SDG 13. The coupling
of these goals serves as the
centerpiece to realizing the global
smart city dreams, benefitting
communities and countries at
large. Sustainable Development Goal 11

Progress towards SDG 11: ‘Make
cities inclusive, safe, resilient
and sustainable’ is more critical
than ever before. ICTs and digital
technologies are essential to
managing cities more effectively
and holistically with the aim
of becoming more climate
conscious – through applications
such as smart buildings, smart
water management, intelligent
transport systems, and efficiencies
in energy consumption and waste
management.