World Cities Day

  From 13:30 to14:30 (UTC -05:00) in Bogota, Colombia. Roundtable 1: “ Achieving adequate housing through people-centred smart cities ”. In the context of rapid urbanization and accelerated technological change , cities around the world face increasingly complex challenges at the intersection of inclusion, sustainability, and digital transformation. While digital technologies offer powerful tools for enhancing urban governance , public service delivery and civicparticipation , their potential in tackling the global housing crisis is yet to be explored fully. Adequate housing and access to urban basic services are fundamental human rights and key components of sustainable urbandevelopment . Yet, the global housing crisis remains one of the most pressing challenges of our time: over 2.8 billion people worldwide lack access to adequate housing, while millions more live in informal settlements or face barriers in accessing housing and other essential services such as water, san...

From 14:45 to 15-15 in Bogota, Colombia. Roundtable 2: “ Digital innovation to enhance urban infrastructure, land use and basic service provision ”. With urban populations projected to exceed 6.7 billion by 2050, cities are under growing pressure to expand and modernize infrastructure, optimize land use, and ensure equitable access to basic services. These challenges are particularly acute in the Global South, where rapid urbanization outpaces the capacity of local governments to plan and manage urban growth in a sustainable, inclusive, and resilient manner . Digital innovation offers transformative potential to address these challenges, enhancing how infrastructure is planned, monitored, and maintained; enabling real-time tracking of service needs and delivery; improving land management and mobility systems ; and strengthening participatory planning and data-driven decision-making . However, many cities still face structural barriers such as limited institutional capacity, insuf...

Today, Leading Cities works with a global network of over 15,000 cities, connecting local governments with the solutions, partnerships, and resources they need to thrive in a rapidly changing world . But, Leading Cities began with a global vision and local roots. Founded through a collaboration between forward-thinking cities—Dublin, Boston, Barcelona, Rio de Janeiro, Lyon, Hamburg, Lisbon, Zapopan, Vancouver, and Haifa—Leading Cities was built on the belief that the challenges we face as a planet will be solved in the places we live: our cities. Originally established in 2008 at Northeastern University, Leading Cities evolved from a research initiative into an independent nonprofit, expanding its mission to drive sustainability, resilience, and innovation in local governments worldwide . Today, we support a global network of cities, startups, investors, non-profits and corporate partners, working together to accelerate impact where it matters most.   Leading Cities is a global n...