A digit-all future for our cities and habitats

The urbanization process and the global goals

Globally, cities represent over half of the world economy and two thirds of the global energy consumption. Every week, globally, 1.5 million people move from rural to urban environments. Cities are the powerhorse of economic progress and citizen welfare, and by 2050 cities will accommodate 68% of global population (UN Habitat, 2022).

This urbanization process poses great challenges to urban management: both related to access to basic services, dwellings, urban planning, mobility, etc. but also to the sustainability of said transformation and its effects upon climate and environment.

As a matter of fact, persisting poverty, growing inequalities and environmental degradation are the most defiant obstacles to a sustainable development. Far from advocating for an equitable distribution of economic growth and wealth, during the last few decades, inequalities have grown globally.

This has especially been the case in urban areas, while the pressure over natural resources has been exacerbating. ?No doubt we’ve experienced more droughts, higher intensity of storms and even floods, increased wind speeds, hurricanes, etc. Climate change is so very happening.

"As a matter of fact, persisting poverty, growing inequalities and environmental degradation are the most defiant obstacles to a sustainable development. Far from advocating for an equitable distribution of economic growth and wealth, during the last few decades, inequalities have grown globally."

In fact, the United Nations (UN) Conference Habitat III, conscious if these facts, recognized the need of a planned and sustainable urbanization process, and so adopted the New Urban Agenda in Quito, Ecuador, in 2016.

In short, the Declaration of Quito (2016) comes to define how we must take action in the urbanization process to tackle:

i)???????????????????social inclusion and poverty eradication,

ii)?????????????????a sustainable urban prosperity, inclusive and one which delivers opportunities to everyone, and

iii)???????????????a resilient urban development, and environmentally sustainable.

In this context, the New Urban Agenda is intended as a resource for different actors in different levels of government, and for civil society organizations and the private sector. The Agenda highlights linkages between sustainable urbanization and job creation, livelihood opportunities and improved quality of life, and it insists on incorporation of all these sectors in every urban development or renewal policy and strategy. (UN Habitat, 2020)

"This has especially been the case in urban areas, while the pressure over natural resources has been exacerbating."

In fact, the New Urban Agenda highlights and accentuates the role of urban areas in the promotion of a sustainable and socially equitable development of the planet, from a perspective of four dimensions: i) social sustainability, ii) economic sustainability, iii) environmental sustainability, and iv) spatial sustainability.

In this context, I don’t think anyone would still argue why Urban Agendas are needed nowadays. In a similar way to what has happened with the global commitment towards the SDGs (and specifically SDG 11, which recalls action for sustainable cities and communities), Urban Agendas have placed themselves in the spotlight of policy strategies over the last few years.

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Connectivity and digital transformation: the greatest opportunity for our urban habitats?

Today, over half of global population lives in cities. And also today, almost half of global population does not have access to the Internet (ITU, 2020). This is a statistical correlation –whether causal or not-, between the urbanization process and connectivity.

During the last few years, the world has experienced a growing effort to bring connectivity throughout the territory. In this context, connectivity has proven to be a very effective tool in driving transformations and bringing new opportunities.

This was made quite clear to all during the Covid-19 pandemic: whether you had a good fiber optic connectivity or not implied you could keep up with your activity: work, studies, and even socialization and other leisure activities.

"Connectivity has proven to be a very effective tool in driving transformations and bringing new opportunities."

In fact, Covid accelerated the adoption of digitalisation in many ways. We are now “used” to remote work, and we are more used than ever to videoconferencing our family. We shop on-line, we watch series and movies from platforms, we chat to our doctor through whatsapp and we even attend gym sessions on-line. These are things we were not used to doing only two years ago. Yet these are things that undoubtedly transform our lives and our habitats: our homes that now serve as our offices and gyms; our neighborhoods, where we value having shops, restaurants and other services, our cities, with hospitals and education centres, etc. We no longer see our habitats as we did before Covid.

Back in 2019, during Mobile World Congress, in Barcelona took place a remote surgery, where Dr Lacy, surgeon, was placed at an auditorium and the patient and doctor’s team at the operations theatre in Hospital Clínic of Barcelona, kilometres away. Dr Lacy was delivering real-time instructions guided by a camera. This was made thanks to 5G technology that enables a lower latency and the capacity of delivering instantaneous communication. Basically, the surgeon could have been placed anywhere in the world with a 5G connectivity.

Now imagine what this means in terms of the future of healthcare and our own future as humanity.

The accelerating paper of technology in these transformations, and as a catalyzer of efficient solutions to global challenges is undoubtable. Internet has?changed?the way we learn, communicate and work. Internet has extended and democratised knowledge, and has universalised access to information.

"The accelerating paper of technology in these transformations, and as a catalyzer of efficient solutions to global challenges is undoubtable."

Global developments are setting forth a new dimension, that of digitalisation, as a transversal vector, to promote, enhance and help deliver the rest of economic, social and environmental dimensions.

We need digitalisation to promote an efficient planning of our urban spaces and territories; we must evolve towards a digital and digitalised economy that promotes opportunities, we must empower our society digitally, making everyone participant of current and future developments; and we must use technology as the accelerator of a (much, much) more sustainable economic model.

Maria Galindo Garcia-Delgado