The COVID-19 pandemic is having unprecedented impacts on the social and economic aspect of many cities. ICT solutions and digital technologies can significantly expand a city’s capacity to responses to crisis situations such as the COVID-19 scenario, from monitoring the progress and slowdown the spread of the virus to delivering early warning signals that would save countless lives. The COVID-19 pandemic is a global challenge that demands a global response. It is imperative that smart sustainable cities are coordinating with the global community to develop a comprehensive and multilateral response to the crisis, one that would safeguard the well-being of all citizens, particularly of the most vulnerable populations.
Within the U4SSC Thematic Group on Smart City Platforms, a new work stream on "Emergency response of cities to COVID-19" has been recently established to address the urban dimension of cities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This thematic group provides a global platform to share innovative solutions and best practices on addressing the impacts of COVID-19 from cities around the world. In addition, it is also looking to develop a policy framework on smart public health emergency management in cities.
If you want to get involved in the group please see this step by step instruction on how to subscribe to the mailing list and SharePoint site.