The COVID-19 pandemic has been a watershed event for cities, with lasting impacts on how residents will live, travel, shop, and work. Our ground-breaking research into the post-pandemic plans of 167 cities worldwide—to be released at the summit—reveals that cities will need to morph into Cities 4.0 to achieve their social, environmental, and economic goals and meet their citizens’ needs after the pandemic ends.
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Cities 4.0 are urban centers that will evolve beyond yesterday’s smart cities to transform and interconnect various urban domains by leveraging technology and data, and by using a wider set of partnerships and innovative financing models. Just as importantly, Cities 4.0 will engage and empower their citizens, and will work with communities to take their social, environmental, and economic agenda to a higher level, fully aligned with the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

The Smart Cities Strategy Summit will brought together city leaders from around the world to exchange views on solutions for a post-pandemic world. Participants included urban experts from ESI ThoughtLab and CityAge and thought leaders from the business, academic, and government, who helped moderate and contribute to the discussion. Unlike other urban-focused events, the Smart Cities Strategy Summit was an invitation-only interchange that provided a virtual forum for a cross-pollination of ideas and practices, drawing on our latest evidence-based research.
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Those that joined us at the summit gathered insights from peers and our analysis to craft a successful roadmap to achieving post-pandemic urban development goals.