International Guidelines on People-Centred Smart Cities
UN-Habitat has launched an open online consultation for external stakeholders to contribute with views, inputs and ideas on how to leverage technologies, data and innovation for sustainable urban development and to address peoples’ needs to leave no one behind.
Leveraging local expertise to enhance urban sustainability with BEAM
UNITAC team facilitated the launch of the Building and Establishment Automated Mapper (BEAM) tool and, in partnership with the Human Settlement Unit from the eThekwini Municipality, hosted a Project Advisory Meeting in the city of eThekwini, South Africa.
International Youth Day 2024
From clicks to progress: youth digital pathways for sustainable development. UNITAC celebrates the IYD 2024 highlighting innovative projects with and for youth around the world supporting the achievement of the SDGs.
Selected projects from the UNITAC Open Call 2024
UNITAC selects three new projects from the Open Call 2024
UNITAC Open call for projects
UNITAC invites organizations to submit project ideas that address the most pressing urban challenges with data or technology solutions.
Using Artificial Intelligence for Better City Planning
To support the eThekwini municipality in automating their building mapping process, the UNITAC team developed BEAM (Building & Establishment Automated Mapper), a software that uses Machine Learning to radically accelerate the spatial recognition of buildings and keep track of changes in the built-up area or density.
Co-developing a Digital Job Card app with Rehoboth in Namibia
As part of a three-year project, UNITAC supports various towns in Namibia with data-driven decision-making and the implementation of innovative digital solutions.
UNITAC conference on urban tech for equity
UNITAC Hamburg organized and hosted the "Urban Tech for Equity" conference from June 18th to 20th, 2024. This significant event has taken place as part of UN-Habitat's consultations to develop International Guidelines on People-Centred Smart Cities.
Image credit: Janine Kohls, HCU Kommunikation
Experimenting with data for urban planning in the city of Maceió, Brazil
Read the full article with the main findings derived from the research into relevant tools for better data collection and management in the city of Maceió. A case study and pilot tool to demonstrate how open data can be used for public policy and decision making processes in also included.
What data projects mean for informal settlements
Tagesspiegel Background article: Insights from Prof. Dr. Gesa Ziemer, UNITAC Academic Lead and Head of City Science Lab, in Hamburg.
How Knowledge Graphs can help analysing risk and resilience in cities
UNITAC Hamburg created the City Resilience Tool. A model, that through the use of knowledge graphs can help analyse risks and improve the resilience of urban systems by providing cities with information on potential shocks, vulnerabilities and stresses.
Supporting sustainable urban recovery in Ukraine
UN-Habitat has started activities in Ukraine to support the country’s urban recovery efforts, including sustainable and inclusive urban recovery planning across the country.
Urban Technology & Collaboration in Informal Settlements
Enhancing livelihoods and empowering communities, a Symposium journey.
Digital Kgotla in Botswana, Gaborone - Participatory urban planning with DIPAS
UNITAC in collaboration with the Department of Town & Country Planning of Botswana (DTCP) and the Botswana Digital & Innovation Hub (BDIH) hosted a 2-day Digital Participatory Planning Workshop in Gaborone.
People-Centered Smart Cities at the Smart City Expo World Congress
In November 2023, UNITAC participated in the Smart City Expo World Congress, in Barcelona, Spain, to showcase the initiatives and digital tools developed to accelerate people-centered smart cities. This included hosting panels on digital tools and data for participatory urban planning, and presenting these tools at the UN-Habitat pavilion, in the exhibition area.
Strengthening partnerships for stronger Ukrainian cities
UNITAC Ukraine team contributed to the sixth German-Ukrainian Municipal Partnership Conference, hosted in Leipzig, Germany, from 13 to 15 November 2023.