Page 22 - Reference framework for integrated management of an SSC - A U4SSC deliverable on city platforms

agile decision making. The city’s data platform infrastructure is a key element of this transformation,
ensuring seamless communication between heterogeneous systems and technologies.

The Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU) and its members within ITU-T Study Group
20, which is dedicated to IoT, smart cities and communities, have been developing international
standards that establish technical criteria, processes, and practices to enable the coordinated
development of IoT technologies for smart sustainable cities. Most recently, the study group has
been working on topics including AI, blockchain, machine-to-machine communication and Big
Data aspects of IoT.

ITU-T Study Group 20 is developing standards on digital inclusion in smart cities, next-generation
urban assessments, maturity model for digital supply chains, digital transformation in smart cities,
crowdsourcing for urban infrastructure monitoring, smart fire protection, smart buildings, data
middle-platform in IoT, among others.

The city’s competitiveness in the above definition refers to “policies, institutions, strategies,
processes, and innovation that determine the sustainable productivity of the city.”

Smart and Sustainable Cities successfully adopt advanced digital technologies and ICTs to improve
their performance according to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and urban growth and
technological proliferation requirements. By doing so strategically, they harness the tremendous
potential to improve urban operations, functions, services, designs, strategies, and policies for the
benefit of citizens and the environment.

Smart and Sustainable Cities do so, in part, by combining the role of ICT as a platform for aggregating
information and data (City Platform) with traditional infrastructures. ICTs in Smart and Sustainable
Cities provide valuable information on consuming resources and services.

ICT-based urban services in Smart and Sustainable Cities provide, among others, benefits related
to:

• Improving energy and climate efficiency.
• Operation and transparency of urban infrastructure.

• Urban mobility and resilience.

• The efficiency of water distribution systems.
• Waste management.

• Security.

• Other services.

8 Reference framework for integrated management of an SSC | June 2023