Smart cities have revolutionized urban development by leveraging modern technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), next-generation networks, and data-driven solutions to enhance quality of life.
In an exclusive interview, Dr. Cosmas Zavazava, Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), discussed the organization’s efforts to bridge the digital divide and create smart, sustainable cities and communities globally. As smart city initiatives continue to evolve, Dr. Zavazava highlighted the ITU’s significant role in shaping policies and standards to support inclusive and resilient smart city developments worldwide.
What initiatives is ITU undertaking to support Smart City developments globally?
As Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT), I would like to expand the concept of Smart Cities and include Smart Communities to include those living in rural communities. Our goal is to promote universal and meaningful connectivity and bridge the rural and urban divide. ITU supports Smart Cities and smart communities through activities that promote innovation, improve quality of life, and make cities and communities more inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. For example, ITU plays a central role in organizing and managing the Smart Sustainable Cities initiative, which promotes the use of ICTs to improve urban operations and services, enhance energy efficiency, waste management, housing, healthcare and traffic flow. It uses technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), digital twins, and smart grids. The initiative is part of the United for Smart Sustainable Cities (U4SSC), a global UN collaboration co-coordinated by ITU to help cities and communities become smarter and more sustainable, aligning with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Meanwhile, in collaboration with UN-Habitat and UNDP, ITU has developed the Toolkit on Digital Transformation to provide cities with resources to deploy Internet of Things (IoT) and smart systems for digital inclusion and accessibility of services.
How is ITU addressing the digital divide in Smart City development across different regions?
Our focus is to bridge the digital divide. To ensure inclusion, we have not only focused on urban smart systems but have been implementing a Smart Villages and Smart Islands initiative in various regions that brings digital transformation to remote or rural communities, with projects designed to leave no one behind. It is a good example of our work on the digital divide. On Southern Malekula, one of the remote and disaster-prone islands that make up the country of Vanuatu, information, and communication technologies (ICTs) are promoting health, education, and business. The island has embraced online education, digital payments, and e-commerce. The residents have created a new product, Smart Islands Coconut Oil, and have resolved to build a business centre. The secondary school’s connectivity has proven resilient in storms.
In Gokina, the first Smart Village in Pakistan, thousands of people have used e-health and e-education services. Hundreds of women have received digital skills training, and more than one hundred girls are taking smart-learning science courses. Pakistan’s second Smart Village, Sambriyal, was inaugurated in December 2024 and has already introduced online education and a new village centre for rural people to learn digital skills.
So far, the Smart Villages and Smart Islands initiative is serving eleven countries – Fiji, Nauru, Palau, Kiribati, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, and Pakistan – ten of which are Small Island Developing States. More partners are learning about the initiative and coming on board, and more countries are expressing interest in hosting a Smart Village or Smart Island.
The initiative is funded by the Asian Development Bank, the governments of Australia and Japan, Huawei, ITU, and the Joint SDG Fund.
How is the BDT collaborating with other UN bodies and international organizations to accelerate smart sustainable cities?
BDT works with an extensive network of partners. After all, ITU is made up of 194 member states and more than one thousand companies, universities, and international and regional organizations. On smart, sustainable cities, we are very engaged with our UN partners. We have already mentioned the U4SSC, initiative. It is coordinated by ITU, UNECE and UN-Habitat and supported by sixteen other UN bodies. Another vital collaboration to mention is the Early Warnings for All Initiative, which aims for all countries to have early-warning systems in place by 2027 to protect people from to hazardous weather events.
Our partners in that initiative are the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, the World Meteorological Organization, the International Federation of Red Cross, and Red Crescent Societies. Data is critical. In this respect we work with fifteen organizations that are UN organizations through the Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development which is an international, multistakeholder initiative to improve the availability and quality of ICT data and indicators, particularly in developing countries. This initiative was launched in 2004.
In the next five years, what trends do you foresee in Smart City developments, and how is ITU preparing to support these trends?
Over the next five years, several important trends are expected to shape the development of Smart Cities and Smart Communities: Eco-friendly urban mobility will bring autonomous vehicles, hyperloops, and robotaxis to make urban transportation more efficient and sustainable. Digital citizenship initiatives will focus on increasing citizen engagement and collaboration, particularly in areas like healthcare and education, while building resilience to cybersecurity risks. Enhancements in smart grid technology will optimize energy management and distribution. 5G deployment will support a massive number of IoT applications, improving digital infrastructure and enabling real-time data transmission. Advanced waste management systems will be adopted by cities to improve efficiency and sustainability.
ITU’s role in all these trends is to engage with governments and other stakeholders to establish policies, strategies, and capacity-building programmes to support countries.
ITU also organizes the Digital Transformation Dialogues, a series of webinars, fireside chats and ask-the-expert sessions on emerging technologies. These dialogues are a place for cities to share knowledge, identify policy needs, and develop international standards that support digital transformation. That will continue. Our ITU-T Study Group 20 develops international standards (ITU-T recommendations) that provide guidance for implementing IoT technologies, city services, policy frameworks, and more. Also, in the development sector (ITU-D), within the Study Group 2 work, there are specific questions related to Smart Cities in the context of digital transformation. Finally, there is expected to emerge agentic AI and a more significant role for data and the setting in of a data-driven culture. Coming with it will be serious discussion on AI governance and measures to address associated cybersecurity threats.
More on Smart Cities:
Japan’s Smart City: Integrating Sustainability with Technological Advancement
Inside China's Smart City Boom: Leveraging AI, 5G, and IoT for Urban Innovation
Telkom Indonesia and NEC Indonesia Forge Partnership to Build Smart Cities