The use of artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly important for local governments. From more efficient administrative processes to data-driven decisions in urban development, resource use, or citizen participation, AI opens up new possibilities for action. At the same time, questions arise about ethical standards, transparency, and social inclusion.
The expert event brings together municipalities from Germany and the Global South to share international experiences, opportunities, and challenges in dealing with AI in municipal practice.
The aim is to:
highlight specific best practices from different contexts,
promote interregional knowledge exchange, and
provide impulses for the development of individual approaches.
Firstly, the Bonn-based AI company Petanux will present its AI tools and how they collaborate with German municipalities. Secondly, the City of Jakarta will showcase the AI tool employed to support its urban development strategy. The event will conclude with a presentation from the City of Hamburg, sharing its experiences with a Large Language Models (LLMs)-based analysis tool used to monitor the implementation of the SDGs in Hamburg.
“What gets measured, gets managed.” This adage underscores the importance of tracking progress to achieve meaningful change. For municipalities committed to gender mainstreaming, this means developing structured data systems, enriching the knowledge base, and ensuring precise monitoring—essential steps toward truly inclusive, gender-sensitive local governance.
Building on the model pioneered by the National Federation of Tunisian municipalities (FNCT) and its partners,1 this guide provides a unified, practical framework for advancing gender equality by integrating a gender perspective across all municipal services. Beyond policies and projects, it aims to catalyze a cultural shift—one where gender mainstreaming is no longer an add-on, but a fundamental pillar of equitable and effective local governance. Establishing a municipal observatory for Gender Mainstreaming enables municipalities to integrate the gender perspective into all aspects of municipal services, and to foster a shift in mindset where gender mainstreaming is recognized as a core element of fair and inclusive local governance. Employing the guide’s evidence-based approach, municipalities can stimulate dialogue, propose concrete solutions, and develop measurable gender related indicators that municipalities can apply and track.
This workshop contributed to strengthening the exchange of municipal experiences and paved the way for Syrian cities to be integrated in the network and become active members. Representatives from Damascus and Reef Damascus Governorates shared the current state of comprehensive planning, highlighting the challenges of pursuing a long-term vision for sustainable development while aiming to turn the complexities of post-war reconstruction into an opportunity to build back better.
Participants during the lecture on planning in Damascus | Photo: Muna Shalan, Connective CitiesPresentation of the digitisation process in Amman | Photo: Muna Shalan, Connective Cities
They also discussed their aspirations for digital transformation in their city administration. Their counterparts from Greater Amman municipality delved into practical experiences in these thematic fields, sharing a wealth of knowledge and lessons learned grounded in the local context of implementation.
Peer consultation and presentation of good practices | Photo: Muna Shalan, Connective Cities
Through interactive peer learning activities, the participants showcased good practice examples and fleshed out success factors and impediments faced by municipal workers in the process of city planning, municipal service delivery, and digital transformation. The discussions created an open and honest exchange, allowing both sides to learn from each other’s successes and obstacles.
Field visit to Al-Zuhour Green Triangle – a model for green infrastructure | Photo: Muna Shalan, Connective Cities
A site visit to a good practice example was also organized as part of the workshop namely to Al-Zuhour Green Triangle – a model for green infrastructure. On an area of 2300 sq. m, this pilot project that was implemented by Greater Amman municipality and UN-Habitat Jordan demonstrates two concepts of green stormwater management; stormwater bioretention and stormwater detention.
The workshop resulted in a roadmap for future cooperation and institutionalization of knowledge exchange, which outlined priority action areas. Key focus areas include legislation and governance, with an emphasis on fast-tracking a fair reconstruction law in Syria, adopting standardized tendering and contracting procedures, and activating public-private partnership (PPP) frameworks where appropriate. In terms of decentralization, participants agreed on the need to delegate selected powers—particularly in transport and traffic management—to municipalities, supported by technical committees to ensure that master plans align with sectoral strategies. Strengthening resources and capacities was also identified as critical, including securing adequate human and financial resources, and investing in in-house expertise and ongoing training.
Group photo of participants | Photo: Muna Shalan, Connective Cities
Placing the community at the center of urban planning emerged as another key principle, with commitments to maintain public participation through Citizen Hubs and feedback mechanisms that reflect both the social and economic dimensions of urban life. Finally, under the banner of “Build Back Better,” participants called for addressing data gaps, improving cross-sectoral coordination, and using reconstruction as a platform for long-term, sustainable development.
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE FOR SUSTAINABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT
NEWSLETTER – ISSUE NO. 86, AUGUST 2025
Dear Readers,
“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them,” wrote American author, professor, and civil rights activist Maya Angelou to her daughter. When people come together with this mindset—pooling their energy and expertise to face crises collectively—remarkable resilience can emerge, both within groups and across entire communities.
This spirit was clearly visible at Connective Cities’ expert forum during the Seventh German-Ukrainian Partnership Conference in Münster, as well as in our ongoing learning process on inclusivity and participatory risk assessments in West African cities. Close engagement with citizens and participatory governance are key elements here, and digital tools can help make them more effective, as highlighted by examples from Abu Dhabi and Ras el-Matn in our event “From Open Municipality to Smart City.”
We also report on how local administrations and city associations joined forces at the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New York to advocate for stronger recognition of their expertise in shaping national sustainability strategies.
And of course, we warmly invite you to our two upcoming online events: one will focus on strategies for the “reuse of public buildings from the 1960s and 1970s”, while the other will reflect on experiences with local sustainability reporting and the Voluntary Local Review.
We hope you enjoy this issue and find it inspiring.
Your Connective Cities Team
REVIEW
From the Open Municipality to the Smart City
Localising good governance and leveraging GIS for livability and infrastructure planning
Through transparency, citizen participation and data-driven decision-making, cities can improve quality of life and infrastructure planning. While technology enables efficiency, the foundation remains good governance: cooperation, accountability and citizen-centred policies. Two good practices – a geodata solution in Abu Dhabi and participatory administration in Ras el-Matn – were used as examples to discuss the ways to achieve this in depth.
Resilient Cities in Times of Multiple Crises Strategies for Resilient Municipalities
Connective Cities side event at the seventh German-Ukrainian partnership conference in Münster
The Ukrainian panellists gave impressive examples to the audience of the effects of Russia’s war of aggression, demonstrating what it means for a city’s population to face acute crises, and showing how important citizens’ and entrepreneurs’ willpower is in this regard. The importance of close collaboration between a variety of national and international stakeholders in building resilient cities was also highlighted.
From Risk to Resilience: Building Inclusive Urban Futures in West Africa
How do Western African cities address inclusivity and participatory risk assessments in the context of growing challenges of disaster risk preparedness and rapid urbanisation?
The central question of how to address urban risk brought together experts and local leaders from municipalities in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. The workshop series supports 12 cities in developing bankable project ideas to address risks in their areas, while also strengthening participants’ capacity to improve urban resilience.
Local and Regional Governments at the High-Level Political Forum 2025
Working group meeting draws conclusions from the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development Committee in New York City 2025
Local administrations are still not sufficiently involved in preparing national sustainability reports as partners, which is likely to be one reason for the ongoing challenges in implementing the SDGs. This was one of several key conclusions from the working group meeting attended by 19 municipal practitioners from around the world.
2nd Hands on Public Buildings. Reuse of modernist buildings
Invitation to the summary & outlook event on 22 September 2025, 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. (CEST), online
The construction sector is responsible for around 60% of CO₂ emissions and over 30% of waste generation. Reusing and converting buildings is an essential strategy for making the construction sector more sustainable and saving local authorities money. We would therefore like to cordially invite you to our 2.5-hour online event.
Sustainability Reporting and Voluntary Local Review
Invitation to the summary and outlook event on 25 September 2025, 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. (CEST), online
The Voluntary Local Review (VLR) is a globally recognised, flexible reporting tool that helps cities track and present their contributions to the 2030 Agenda. During the online events, representatives from local government associations and municipalities will come together to present and discuss success stories from Lusaka, Niš and other places.
Association of German Cities Gereonstraße 18 – 32, 50670 Köln | Deutschland Kontakt: Sabine Drees Email: sabine.drees@staedtetag.de
Engagement Global gGmbH Service Agency Communities in One World Friedrich-Ebert-Allee 40, 53113 Bonn | Deutschland Kontakt: Sibylle Loyeau Email: sibylle.loyeau@engagement-global.de
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Friedrich-Ebert-Allee 32 + 36, 53113 Bonn | Deutschland Kontakt: Ricarda Meissner Email: ricarda.meissner@giz.de
Connective Cities regional network in the Middle East and North Africa organized a virtual insight session on how municipalities can utilise open governance models and harness the power of digitalisation for better urban planning and service delivery. The major potential of employing this approach lies in improved strategies for dynamic urban resource management, devising strategies for urban engagement and civic participation, as well as innovations in urban management, and policy analysis.
The insight session showcased municipal experiences on how open government principles can be localized to enhance transparency and citizen engagement and ultimately promote good governance. The role of digital transformation in increasing transparency and public participation was underscored. Furthermore, the insight session delved into application of digital tools, in particular AI-powered Geographic Information Systems (GIS), for supporting data-driven decision-making for infrastructure development and livability improvements. By showcasing good practice examples from Abu Dhabi (UAE) and Ras el-Matn (Lebanon), participants learned about successful experiences in integrating open government principles as well as urban informatics for sustainable urban growth and making municipalities more inclusive, efficient, and resilient.
On the importance of correctly assessing quality of life | Photo: Connective CitiesGIS-supported planning to improve the quality of life | Photo: Connective Cities
The first showcased good practice discussed geospatial solutions to empower governments and municipalities with AI-powered, user-friendly GIS platforms via automation, smart analytics, and seamless decision-making tools. Examples of these tools that are employed by the municipality of Abu Dhabi to achieve higher livability standards are custom GIS applications, smart city dashboards, spatial data infrastructure systems, real-time monitoring solutions, and geospatial decision support tools. These tools are customizable and scalable, and can be adapted to the municipal needs that include spatial analysis, infrastructure planning, data integration for engineering projects, and urban design visualization.
Principles of the open government | Photo: Connective Cities
In Ras el-Matn municipality, the principles of the open government were recently adopted to promote transparency and cooperation between municipalities and citizens. These principles were locally-adapted to form a framework for transparency, accountability, and citizen participation in local governance, particularly via increasing transparency and accountability, promoting citizen participation and collaborative governance, deploying technology, innovation and open data, improving access to information , and mainstreaming rule of law , ensuring fiscal transparency and public integrity, and optimizing responsiveness by listening to public feedback and adapting policies accordingly. It was highlighted that the smart municipality complements the open government but does not replace it. Technology is a tool to support transparency and participation, but it is not the ultimate solution to improving livability in cities.
Steps towards setting up a municipal database | Photo: Connective Cities
By localizing transparency, citizen engagement, and data-driven decision-making—as demonstrated in Abu Dhabi’s geospatial solutions and Ras el-Matn’s participatory governance—cities can enhance livability and infrastructure planning. While technology enables efficiency, the foundation remains good governance: collaboration, accountability, and citizen-centric policies. The key takeaway: A “smart city” is not just about technology but about leveraging it to strengthen open, equitable, and sustainable urban development.
Recording of the session on Connective Cities platform (in Arabic).
Join us for an insight session exploring how municipalities can utilise open governance models and harness the power of digitalisation for better urban planning and service delivery.
This insight session showcases municipal experiences on how open government principles can be localized to enhance transparency and citizen engagement and ultimately promote good governance. The role of digital transformation in increasing transparency and public participation will also be discussed. Furthermore, the insight session delves into application of digital tools, in particular Geographic Information Systems (GIS), for supporting data-driven decision-making for infrastructure development and liveability improvements. Participants will explore good practice examples of cities successfully integrating smart governance and spatial planning for sustainable urban growth and engage with experts and peers on strategies to make municipalities more inclusive, efficient, and resilient.
The initiative “Making My School More Beautiful,” led by five women elected for the municipal council of Yarmouk al-Jadida municipality in Jordan, showcases a successful model for promoting democracy and empowering girls through school parliaments. By collaborating closely with local communities, schools, and mothers, the project not only enhanced school environments but also fostered civic awareness and active participation among young women. Its structured approach offers a replicable framework for similar initiatives in other communities.
At the suggestion of the UN and as part of a comprehensive multi-stakeholder approach, the government of South Africa, together with the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) and 14 municipalities, initiated a remarkable process to localise the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda, resulting in ten Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs) with many other very positive downstream impacts in just eight months.
With four million inhabitants, the Jordanian capital is home to around 40 per cent of the country’s total population. In 2021, Amman’s city administration, the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM), decided to create a VLR – the first in the Arab region. In the summer of 2022, the VLR was finalised and presented together with the Voluntary National Review (VNR) at the UN High-Level Political Forum in New York.
The VLR has proven to be a complete success – both as an analytical tool and as a process:
An ‘ecosystem’ for collecting validated data has been developed.
Sustainability goals (SDGs) were integrated into various areas of policy, strategy development and administrative action.
New formats for citizen participation were trialled.
New projects and partnerships were initiated and ongoing ones strategically interlinked;
The digitalisation of the administration is very advanced.
The simultaneous creation of VNR and VLR ensured policy coherence and mutual support between the two levels.
The member states of the United Nations (UN) committed to work closely with local and regional governments to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
From 2 to 4 December 2024, Connective Cities organized in collaboration with the Association of German Cities a Dialogue Event in Berlin, in which 37 practitioners from 25 institutions and 15 countries met in order to exchange their experiences in the field of the Voluntary Local and Sub-National Review.
The focus of the dialogue event was on exchanging experiences and providing mutual peer-to-peer advice. The regional diversity, with perspectives and practical examples from South America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Germany, Southeast Europe and Asia, invigorated the discussion and contributed to the success of the event.
