my based on knowledge, innovation and
export of cutting-edge technology. Amajor
step forward along this strategy is to de-
velop a Smart City. This is why Abu Dha-
bi’s Masdar City intends to be
“smart, green city in the desert”
and provide a successful model
for smart urban development re-
gionally and globally.
The ICT sector development
was set forward as a key influ-
ential element in Smart City fats
transformation. A Smart City is
defined as a city that operates
in an ambitious and innovative
manner covering areas of econ-
omy, people, governance, mo-
bility, environment, and living.
The report said there are four
essential elements of a Smart
City. They are efficient utiliza-
tion of networked infrastructure
to improve economic and policy
efficiency and enable social,
cultural and urban de-
velopment; provide a vision and a strategy
for creating the competitive city in benefit-
ing and capturing available opportunities;
provide and support the multi-stakeholder,
multi-sector, and multi-level urban per-
spective towards competitiveness and
sustainability and ability to sustain con-
tinuous efforts to adapt and innovate.
The report proposes three rules for “Arab
Smart Cities”. Rule 1: It is better to pick
a sector, or part of a sector and invest in
transforming that part into a smart one,
rather than do little in trying to transform
the whole sector or the whole city. Rule 2:
It is highly recommended that the Private
sector partnership with Academia is the
leading executive of the transformation,
while the city government is acting as the
steering and coordinating body. Rule 3:
The strategic and long term partnership of
the Smart City administration with coun-
terparts in other Arab cities in the region is
very important and highly advised.
The report concluded with a set of recom-
mendation and guidelines to empower
Arab cities towards Smart City fast trans-
formation. The recommendations in-
cluded the use of metrics, indicators and
measurement of Smart Cities to be done
in detail over a selected set of Arab cities;
a current status study and assessment of
the city and identification of areas where
smart applications can be developed
within the framework of the transforma-
tion to Smart City; provide a comprehen-
sive study on a possible piece wise de-
velopment and inter-regional cooperation
among Arab Cities.
The UN report was issued in collabora-
tion with the Government Summit with
the objective to examine closely the re-
cent trends in development of Smart Cit-
ies, and focus on the challenges that Arab
Cities may encounter when trying to take
initial steps towards Smart City develop-
ment.
7
March
2015
