Harnessing the Data Revolution for Urban Sustainability

The data revolution is upon us! More data are produced today than ever before, from a multitude of sources. Geo-spatial monitoring, citizen-generated and crowd-sourced data, and big data, are increasingly available in real time and complement official statistics. The private sector, academia, and civil society are using this growing variety of data to make profits, inform research, drive innovation, and support advocacy. Enhancing accessibility and capacity to use data for decision-making is critical to the New Urban Agenda’s vision of action to drive sustainable urban development. Integrated and coordinated data generated through collaborative, participatory processes are essential to planning and monitoring cities in the 21th Century, and empowering citizens. Partnering across sectors to harness the explosion of available data, technologies, skills, and opportunities to connect multiple data sources is essential to unlocking data for evidence-based decision making.

This event will examine several related themes that underpin efforts to harness data for urban sustainability: how cities can tap into a global ecosystem, and use planning and stakeholder engagement tools, to fill data gaps and build capacity for using data for urban sustainability decision-making; concrete examples of tools to help marshal data to address specific urban sustainability challenges; and a deep-dive on one source of data (geospatial) which, when linked with other sources, can empower improved decision-making for urban sustainability.

The event will seek to build understanding of the interdependent nature of many seemingly discrete sustainability challenges, and the value of data in informing decision-making to address complex challenges.

It will seek to spur action in using the tools and technologies available to address specific challenges impacting local communities:
1. Sustainable City Data Revolution Roadmaps and Resources
2. Harnessing the Data Revolution for Climate Resilience for Local Communities
3. Data to End HIV/AIDS in Local Communities
4. Participatory Mapping for Urban Resilience in Secondary Cities