Harnessing the role of technology and innovation in the New Urban Agenda

The world is urbanising fast and there’s a huge opportunity to use new and innovative technologies to solve the social, environmental and economic challenges that cities are facing. While it is not the only solution, technology has the potential to radically improve the lives of people in cities worldwide. It can also empower a new generation of informed citizens to innovate at community scale and better engage with their governments and neighbourhoods. Habitat III offers a chance to bridge the gap between urbanists, sociologists, technologists and city innovators and it is a unique opportunity to better understand the role that innovation has to play in the New Urban Agenda. Future Cities Catapult is hosting a debate bringing together city leaders, civil society and the private sector. We want to hear how cities are supporting innovation new technologies and integrated city systems to address urban challenges. But we also want to provoke discussion around the changing relationship between citizens and local governments, as well as the transformative ways in which cities are engaging with citizens to design products and services. How can technology can be applied to meet the targets under the SDG11? What opportunities and challenges cities and governments are seeing on its implementation? Why is it important to be able to adapt smart city strategies to each city? How do we enable citizens to take part in a collaborative city making process? The debate will be followed by networking drinks, giving the opportunity to further engage with both speakers and participants.