Many cities are leading the path to ‘build back better,’ particularly “smart cities,” which use data and information technology to connect and integrate urban systems and services to enhance the efficiency of resource utilization, optimize urban management, and improve the quality of life for citizens. These data-driven cities responded better in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic thanks to smart infrastructure and data analysis. Fortunately, COVID-19 has accelerated the trend towards “smart cities,” and with the upcoming Urban 20 Mayors Summit, the G20, the wider international community should focus on allocating the necessary resources to increase smart city development globally to help ensure that cities are more resilient against future pandemics and crises.
Many cities are leading the path to ‘build back better,’ particularly “smart cities,” which use data and information technology to connect and integrate urban systems and services to enhance the efficiency of resource utilization, optimize urban management, and improve the quality of life for citizens. These data-driven cities responded better in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic thanks to smart infrastructure and data analysis. Fortunately, COVID-19 has accelerated the trend towards “smart cities,” and with the upcoming Urban 20 Mayors Summit, the G20, the wider international community should focus on allocating the necessary resources to increase smart city development globally to help ensure that cities are more resilient against future pandemics and crises.
This new StoryMap highlights TReNDS’ work to strengthen the measurement of marine litter in Ghana using citizen science approaches.
Reading the news, it is easy to be overwhelmed with dire environmental statistics and data. Yet these numbers can disguise the serious gaps that remain in our understanding of the environment and the impact humanity is having on the natural world. Although in some respects, more data are being produced now about the environment than ever before, there is a clear need to leverage existing data to produce meaningful statistics, and a greater focus should be placed on expanding our environmental data collection and production efforts using new methods and data sources. Fortunately, some noteworthy advances have been made recently, and today, on the 51st anniversary of Earth Day, we should commit to continuing this progress.
In this blog, TReNDS’ Director, Grant Cameron, reflects on the newly released World Bank’s 2021 World Development Report, highlighting its most notable contributions and areas for improvement.
TReNDS' Manager, Hayden Dahmm, was recently featured on "Working Scientist," a podcast series co-hosted by Nature and the International Science Council on the topic of diversity in science. In the episode, Hayden discusses the importance of gridded population data, having accurate and timely data on persons with disabilities, and shares his perspective on how to make sustainable development practices more inclusive.
