Cities in International Decision-Making

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Book edited by Agnieszka Szpak et al: “…argues that cities are becoming more active participants in international law-making and challenging the previously dominant nation-state approach of recent history.

Chapters explore key literature and legal regulations surrounding cities, providing the latest information on their international normative activities. This book includes multiple interviews conducted with the official representatives of cities and various international institutions, such as UN-Habitat, the EU Committee of the Regions, and the Congress for Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe. The authors investigate how, despite their strong role in international relations and international law implementation, the importance of cities has still not been adequately reflected in the structures of the Council of Europe, the EU and the UN. Ultimately, the book finds that cities have more impact on policy-making than on decision-making processes…(More)”.

International Guidelines on People Centred Smart Cities

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UN-Habitat: “…The guidelines aim to support national, regional and local governments, as well as relevant stakeholders, in leveraging digital technology for a better quality of life in cities and human settlements, while mitigating the associated risks to achieve global visions of sustainable urban development, in line with the New Urban Agenda, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and other relevant global agendas.
The aim is to promote a people-centred smart cities approach that is consistent with the purpose and the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, including full respect for international law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to ensure that innovation and digital technologies are used to help cities and human settlements in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda.
The guidelines serve as a reference for Member States to implement people-centred smart city approaches in the preparation and implementation of smart city regulations, plans and strategies to promote equitable access to, and life-long education and training of all people in, the opportunities provided by data, digital infrastructure and digital services in cities and human settlements, and to favour transparency and accountability.
The guidelines recognize local and regional governments (LRGs) as pivotal actors in ensuring closing digital divides and localizing the objectives and principles of these guidelines as well as the Global Digital Compact for an open, safe, sustainable and secure digital future. The guidelines are intended to complement existing global principles on digital development through a specific additional focus on the key role of local and regional governments, and local action, in advancing people-centred smart city development also towards the vision of global digital compact…(More)”.

California Governor Launches New Digital Democracy Tool

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Article by Phil Willon: “California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday announced a new digital democracy initiative that will attempt to connect residents directly with government officials in times of disaster and allow them to express their concerns about matters affecting their day-to-day lives.

The web-based initiative, called Engaged California, will go live with a focus on aiding victims of the deadly wildfires in Pacific Palisades and Altadena who are struggling to recover. For example, comments shared via the online forum could potentially prompt government action regarding insurance coverage, building standards or efforts to require utilities to bury power lines underground.

In a written statement, Newsom described the pilot program as “a town hall for the modern era — where Californians share their perspectives, concerns, and ideas geared toward finding real solutions.”


“We’re starting this effort by more directly involving Californians in the LA firestorm response and recovery,” he added. “As we recover, reimagine, and rebuild Los Angeles, we will do it together.”

The Democrat’s administration has ambitious plans for the effort that go far beyond the wildfires. Engaged California is modeled after a program in Taiwan that became an essential bridge between the public and the government at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Taiwanese government has relied on it to combat online political disinformation as well…(More)”.

Using human mobility data to quantify experienced urban inequalities

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Paper by Fengli Xu et al: “The lived experience of urban life is shaped by personal mobility through dynamic relationships and resources, marked not only by access and opportunity, but also inequality and segregation. The recent availability of fine-grained mobility data and context attributes ranging from venue type to demographic mixture offer researchers a deeper understanding of experienced inequalities at scale, and pose many new questions. Here we review emerging uses of urban mobility behaviour data, and propose an analytic framework to represent mobility patterns as a temporal bipartite network between people and places. As this network reconfigures over time, analysts can track experienced inequality along three critical dimensions: social mixing with others from specific demographic backgrounds, access to different types of facilities, and spontaneous adaptation to unexpected events, such as epidemics, conflicts or disasters. This framework traces the dynamic, lived experiences of urban inequality and complements prior work on static inequalities experience at home and work…(More)”.

Local Government: Artificial intelligence use cases

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Repository by the (UK) Local Government Association: “Building on the findings of our recent AI survey, which highlighted the need for practical examples, this bank showcases the diverse ways local authorities are leveraging AI. 

Within this collection, you’ll discover a spectrum of AI adoption, ranging from utilising AI assistants to streamline back-office tasks to pioneering the implementation of bespoke Large Language Models (LLMs). These real-world use cases exemplify the innovative spirit driving advancements in local government service delivery. 

Whether your council is at the outset of its AI exploration or seeking to expand its existing capabilities, this bank offers a wealth of valuable insights and best practices to support your organisation’s AI journey…(More)”.

Path to Public Innovation Playbook

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Playbook by Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation: “…a practical, example-rich guide for city leaders at any stage of their innovation journey. Crucially, the playbook offers learnings from the past 10-plus years of government innovation that can help municipalities take existing efforts to the next level…

Innovation has always started with defining major challenges in cooperation with residents. But in recent years, cities have increasingly tried to go further by working to unite every local actor around transformational changes that will be felt for generations. What they’re finding is that by establishing a North Star for action—the playbook calls them Ambitious Impactful Missions (AIMs)—they’re achieving better outcomes. And the playbook shows them how to find that North Star.

“If you limit yourself to thinking about a single priority, that can lead to a focus on just the things right in front of you,” explains Amanda Daflos, executive director of the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation and the former Chief Innovation Officer and director of the i-team in Los Angeles. In contrast, she says, a more ambitious, mission-style approach recognizes that “the whole city has to work on this.”

For instance, in Reykjavik, Iceland, local leaders are determined to improve outcomes for children. But rather than limiting the scope or scale of their efforts to one slice of that pursuit, they thought bigger, tapping a wide array of actors from the Department of Education to the Department of Welfare to pursue a vision called “A Better City for Children.” At its core, this effort is about delivering a massive array of new and improved services for kids and ensuring those services are not interrupted at any point in a young person’s life. Specific interventions range from at-home student counseling, to courses on improving communication within households, to strategy sessions for parents whose children have anxiety. 

More noteworthy than the individual solutions is that this ambitious effort has shown signs of activating the kind of broad coalition needed to make long-term change. In fact, the larger vision started under then-Mayor Dagur Eggertsson, has been maintained by his successor, Mayor Ein­ar Þor­steinsson, and has recently shown signs of expansion. The playbook provides mayors with a framework for developing their own blueprints for big change…(More)”.

The Case for Local and Regional Public Engagement in Governing Artificial Intelligence

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Article by Stefaan Verhulst and Claudia Chwalisz: “As the Paris AI Action Summit approaches, the world’s attention will once again turn to the urgent questions surrounding how we govern artificial intelligence responsibly. Discussions will inevitably include calls for global coordination and participation, exemplified by several proposals for a Global Citizens’ Assembly on AI. While such initiatives aim to foster inclusivity, the reality is that meaningful deliberation and actionable outcomes often emerge most effectively at the local and regional levels.

Building on earlier reflections in “AI Globalism and AI Localism,” we argue that to govern AI for public benefit, we must prioritize building public engagement capacity closer to the communities where AI systems are deployed. Localized engagement not only ensures relevance to specific cultural, social, and economic contexts but also equips communities with the agency to shape both policy and product development in ways that reflect their needs and values.

While a Global Citizens’ Assembly sounds like a great idea on the surface, there is no public authority with teeth or enforcement mechanisms at that level of governance. The Paris Summit represents an opportunity to rethink existing AI governance frameworks, reorienting them toward an approach that is grounded in lived, local realities and mutually respectful processes of co-creation. Toward that end, we elaborate below on proposals for: local and regional AI assemblies; AI citizens’ assemblies for EU policy; capacity-building programs, and localized data governance models…(More)”.

State of Digital Local Government

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Report by the Local Government Association (UK): “This report is themed around four inter-related areas on the state of local government digital: market concentration, service delivery, technology, and delivery capabilities.  It is particularly challenging to assess the current state of digital transformation in local government, given the diversity of experience, resources and lack of consistent data collection on digital transformation and technology estates. 

This report is informed through our regular and extensive engagement with local government, primary research carried out by the LGA, and the research of stakeholders. It is worth noting that research on market concentration is challenging as it is a highly sensitive area.

Key messages:

  1. Local Government is a vital part of the public sector innovation ecosystem. Local government needs their priorities and context to be understood within cross public sector digital transformation ambitions through representation on public sector strategic boards and subsequently integrated into the design of public sector guidance and cross-government products at the earliest point. This will reduce the likelihood of duplication at public expense. Local government must also have equivalent access to training as civil servants…(More)”.

How cities are reinventing the public-private partnership − 4 lessons from around the globe

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Article by Debra Lam: “Cities tackle a vast array of responsibilities – from building transit networks to running schools – and sometimes they can use a little help. That’s why local governments have long teamed up with businesses in so-called public-private partnerships. Historically, these arrangements have helped cities fund big infrastructure projects such as bridges and hospitals.

However, our analysis and research show an emerging trend with local governments engaged in private-sector collaborations – what we have come to describe as “community-centered, public-private partnerships,” or CP3s. Unlike traditional public-private partnerships, CP3s aren’t just about financial investments; they leverage relationships and trust. And they’re about more than just building infrastructure; they’re about building resilient and inclusive communities.

As the founding executive director of the Partnership for Inclusive Innovation, based out of the Georgia Institute of Technology, I’m fascinated with CP3s. And while not all CP3s are successful, when done right they offer local governments a powerful tool to navigate the complexities of modern urban life.

Together with international climate finance expert Andrea Fernández of the urban climate leadership group C40, we analyzed community-centered, public-private partnerships across the world and put together eight case studies. Together, they offer valuable insights into how cities can harness the power of CP3s.

4 keys to success

Although we looked at partnerships forged in different countries and contexts, we saw several elements emerge as critical to success over and over again.

• 1. Clear mission and vision: It’s essential to have a mission that resonates with everyone involved. Ruta N in Medellín, Colombia, for example, transformed the city into a hub of innovation, attracting 471 technology companies and creating 22,500 jobs.

This vision wasn’t static. It evolved in response to changing local dynamics, including leadership priorities and broader global trends. However, the core mission of entrepreneurship, investment and innovation remained clear and was embraced by all key stakeholders, driving the partnership forward.

 2. Diverse and engaged partners: Successful CP3s rely on the active involvement of a wide range of partners, each bringing their unique expertise and resources to the table. In the U.K., for example, the Hull net-zero climate initiative featured a partnership that included more than 150 companies, many small and medium-size. This diversity of partners was crucial to the initiative’s success because they could leverage resources and share risks, enabling it to address complex challenges from multiple angles.

Similarly, Malaysia’s Think City engaged community-based organizations and vulnerable populations in its Penang climate adaptation program. This ensured that the partnership was inclusive and responsive to the needs of all citizens…(More)”.

Towards Civic Digital Twins: Co-Design the Citizen-Centric Future of Bologna

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Paper by Massimiliano Luca et al: “We introduce Civic Digital Twin (CDT), an evolution of Urban Digital Twins designed to support a citizen-centric transformative approach to urban planning and governance. CDT is being developed in the scope of the Bologna Digital Twin initiative, launched one year ago by the city of Bologna, to fulfill the city’s political and strategic goal of adopting innovative digital tools to support decision-making and civic engagement. The CDT, in addition to its capability of sensing the city through spatial, temporal, and social data, must be able to model and simulate social dynamics in a city: the behavior, attitude, and preference of citizens and collectives and how they impact city life and transform transformation processes. Another distinctive feature of CDT is that it must be able to engage citizens (individuals, collectives, and organized civil society) and other civic stakeholders (utilities, economic actors, third sector) interested in co-designing the future of the city. In this paper, we discuss the motivations that led to the definition of the CDT, define its modeling aspects and key research challenges, and illustrate its intended use with two use cases in urban mobility and urban development…(More)”.