Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC), the agency responsible for the future of Abu Dhabi’s urban environment, in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Council for Economic Development (ADCED), has unveiled “CitySense”, an innovative urban indicator initiative, during a plenary session at the ongoing World Economic Forum being held in Marrakech, Morocco. Under the theme ‘purpose, resilience and prosperity’, the World Economic Forum (WEF) on the Middle East and North Africa is gathering leaders from business, government and civil society to review the region’s growth and development strategies in the context of pressing global risks. The concept of ‘resilience’ is a key concern for many cities in today’s world climate and the continuing uncertainty throughout global markets.
Commenting on the participation of the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council at the WEF event, H.E Falah Al Ahbabi, General Manager of the UPC, said: “As resilience is linked directly with sustainability in many aspects, we have already started to design and implement policies such as our Estidama programme that encourages sustainable practices and leads the way in the MENA region by ensuring the creation of a sustainable environment, which is the key driver and entry point for long-term diversified growth”.
Presented under the ‘World Sustainable Capitals’ (WSC) initiative ambit, the CitySense Sustainable Indicators Initiative will provide government and city officials with a tool to monitor a city’s achievements and develop a comprehensive assessment of its profile with respect to sustainability, while measuring the impact of dedicated policies to support the sharing of best practices. CitySense is a geographically specific information framework that provides insight into the economic, social, cultural and environmental profile of a city and its respective neighbourhoods.
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