With half of the world's population now living in cities, and the urban population projected to reach 80% of the global population by 2050, cities need to recognize that they are the key driver of global sustainable development. Under the COVID-19 pandemic, cities are exploring new ways to address conventional and new urban challenges and achieve sustainable growth. In this context, global cities have been strengthening their commitments towards sustainable urban development and adopting strategies for achieving the UN Sustainable development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Accord targets while at the same time battling against the current pandemic.
TDLC has been collaborating with the City of Yokohama, a partner city of TDLC¡¯s City Partnership Program (CPP), along with the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) to organize the Asia Smart City Conference in Japan to discuss sustainable urban development in Asia. , scheduled to commence online on January 18, 2021, will focus on the theme of "Building smart cities aiming for carbon neutrality through city to city collaboration under the influence of COVID-19" and will bring together representatives from major Asian cities, government agencies, international organizations, academic institutions, and the private sector.
The World Bank session, hosted by TDLC, will feature a panel of World Bank urban development experts who will present case studies from Japan and around the world on the trends and applications of smart solution towards sustainable urban development under COVID-19.