UN-Habitat 'Future Cities Advisory Outlook 2024' Report Final Expert Group Meeting Held in Ordos, Focusing on Digital Urban Governance

The meeting was chaired by Ying Sheng, National Officer of the UN-Habitat China Office. In his welcome address, Jirimutu, Deputy Mayor of Ordos, stated that Ordos is committed to building an ecological, smart, and inclusive "World Warm City". In recent years, the city has continuously accelerated the overall digital layout of the "Warm City", connecting application scenarios and enhancing urban governance efficiency, using digital urban governance to help create a "national first-class city image".

Oddy Angelo, Special Representative of the Regional Representative of UN-Habitat Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, emphasized the challenges facing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) while pointing out the opportunities brought by digital urban governance. She stated that through innovation, collaboration, and commitment to sustainability, we can create smarter, more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable cities.

Zhang Zhenshan, Habitat Programme Manager for China of UN-Habitat, noted that China has completed rapid urbanization in a short period, with digital technology playing a key role in addressing urban development issues. He emphasized that technology itself is not the goal; the real objective is to improve urban governance and citizens' quality of life through technology. China's experience may have important reference value for other developing countries.

At the meeting, expert group members Professor Wu Jiannan from Shanghai Jiaotong University, Liao Yunfa from China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, and Han Boyang representing Shen Jianguang from JD Group, discussed in depth the background, technology landscape, and implementation roadmap of digital urban governance. Representatives from various cities and enterprises shared excellent practical cases of digital innovation in urban ecological governance, medical efficiency optimization, transportation convenience, and improvement of public service quality.

The delegates also conducted field visits to Ordos' "vehicle-road-cloud integration" autonomous driving pilot section, "Duoduo Ping" platform, "Root Database" platform, BOE Ordos Photoelectric Technology Industrial Park, and Ordos Smart Sports Park to gain an in-depth understanding of local smart city and digital innovation practices.

It is reported that the 'Future Cities Advisory Outlook 2024: Digital Urban Governance' report is scheduled to be launched at the 12th World Urban Forum in November this year. The successful convening of this conference has provided valuable practical experience and professional insights for the final refinement of the report, fully demonstrating China's innovative achievements in the field of digital urban governance. This report aims to promote the digital governance process of global cities, contribute Chinese wisdom to the realization of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and ‘New Urban Agenda’, and has important reference value for promoting smart city development worldwide.