The Global Fund for the Development of Cities (FMDV), of which the Brussels-Capital Region currently holds the vice-presidency, has launched the uraia.org portal to support exchanges on the potential of smart-city technologies for innovation in local administration.
The Brussels-Capital Region does not confine itself to implementing its smart-city strategy locally. Smart cities are also on the agenda of many international organisations and networks, of which the Region, via
Brussels International in particular, is an active member. This is also true of the
FMDV, which, in 2015, launched the uraia.org platform with the
United Nations' UN Habitat programme.
The FMDV and UN Habitat share the conviction that smart-city technologies can help build more resilient local communities which are able to meet urban challenges and the requirements of their populations. This is the core mission of the Uraia platform: to help set up urban solutions for active citizens (“Uraia” means “citizenship” in Swahili).
Creative, innovative and bottom-up solutions
According to uraia.org, the goal of smart cities must not only be to increase the efficiency of public-service management: “
The creation of ‘smart communities’ matters a great deal more than that of ‘smart cities’. This can only be achieved by including citizens in decision-making processes and by enabling citizens to appropriate technologies, thus encouraging the emergence of creative, innovative and bottom-up solutions.”
In concrete terms, the uraia.org platform operates as a venue for exchanges on the potential of technologies to innovate in the area of local administration. It offers three types of services to the selected partners: access to a wide repertoire of inspiring practices, opportunities for learning and increasing capacity, and support for the development of pilot projects.
Uraia.org, Smart City Solutions of an Active Citizenship
