Cities want to share and learn
Cities worldwide are exploiting a host of creative and innovative solutions to reduce energy consumption, water use, waste and emissions, while also being engines of culture, creativity and economic activity.
Taking it further
City authorities are often forced to tackle individual challenges in a piecemeal way, with priorities influenced by short-term financial and political considerations. But smart solutions and sustainability require an integrated approach, taking a system-wide view of the interlinked challenges.
Our greatest gift is our ability to learn from one another, to work together, to solve problems by leveraging our collective intelligence. Cities should be able to exchange ideas so as not to repeat each other’s errors and more quickly benefit from new technologies. City leaders should also be able to identify successful urban innovations across cities worldwide and share best practices to maximise progress and minimize costs.
The WSC Concept
The World Smart Capital concept provides the research and analysis that will inform strategy, but crucially also bring the mindset and the ability to make things happen in the cities. The World Smart Capital concept will embrace not only a city’s endowment of hard structure (‘physical capital’), but also the availability and quality of knowledge communication and social infrastructure (‘intellectual and social capital’).
The interests of corporations, universities, research institutions, governments and cities are reflected in the World Smart Capital Initiative. On one side the cities will be influenced and encouraged to study what has already been done by the application of technology and software. On the other hand it is also about the employment of technology as a way to help public and private actors make decisions and inform citizens of the consequences of their actions.
The World Smart Capital concept is new, fresh and different from what’s happening now. Right now, there is no single annual, global premier CITY programme that joins the public and private interests. Existing events have all separate, but incomplete pieces of the city agenda.