Data for the City of Tomorrow: Developing the Capabilities and Capacity to Guide Better Urban Futures

The report argues that a systems approach to urban governance—integrating land, climate, transport, and energy—requires robust data capabilities. It identifies a growing gap between 'data-rich' and 'data-poor' cities and proposes a framework of six pillars and 12 recommendations to help city leaders establish data leadership, develop strategies, and build public trust. The document emphasizes the use of diverse data sources, from IoT sensors to crowdsourced surveys, to move from reactive to proactive service delivery.

• A 'systems approach' to urban governance is essential for achieving goals related to people and the planet, as it addresses the deep interdependencies between land, climate, transport, housing, energy, inequality, health, commerce, and technology.
• There is a widening disparity between 'data-rich' and 'data-poor' cities, with many cities—particularly in lower-income regions—lacking the public, private, and civic data reservoirs needed for effective management.
• The report proposes a governance framework based on six pillars: leadership and organization, digital skills, data usage and impact, collaboration and partnerships, people-focused standards and services, and implementation.
• Effective data leadership often requires a dedicated role, such as a Chief Data Officer, to coordinate the stewardship of data and translate it into public policy.
• Cities can utilize various data types for different strategic goals: asset management and service delivery often rely on IoT sensors and apps, while long-term strategy utilizes international rankings and multilateral data sets.
• Public trust is a critical barrier; cities must implement clear policies on data use, anonymization, and ethics to maintain the 'social license' required for data partnerships.
• Proactive service delivery, enabled by predictive analytics and personal data, can significantly increase citizen satisfaction and reduce costs, as demonstrated by Helsinki's preschool placement system.
• Collaborative data partnerships with the private sector and academia are essential for filling data gaps, such as using mobile network operator data to redraw metropolitan boundaries in Bandung, Indonesia.
• Standardization efforts, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and ISO standards, are helping cities harmonize international benchmarking and monitor progress more reliably.

APA

World Economic Forum (2023). Data for the City of Tomorrow: Developing the Capabilities and Capacity to Guide Better Urban Futures. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Data_for_the_City_of_Tomorrow_2023.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Data for the City of Tomorrow: Developing the Capabilities and Capacity to Guide Better Urban Futures. 2023. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Data_for_the_City_of_Tomorrow_2023.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Data for the City of Tomorrow: Developing the Capabilities and Capacity to Guide Better Urban Futures |date=June 2023 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Data_for_the_City_of_Tomorrow_2023.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2023data, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Data for the City of Tomorrow: Developing the Capabilities and Capacity to Guide Better Urban Futures}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2023}, month = jun, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Data_for_the_City_of_Tomorrow_2023.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }