Smart City UA hosts Canadian Mayor to address global Smart City solutions

Thesmartcityjournal.com
May 17, 2021

Yuriy Nazarov, Head of the Smart City UA initiative, discussed the benefits of digitalization with Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua of the City of Vaughan

Yuriy Nazarov, Head of the Smart City UA initiative and chairman of the Smart City Committee of the Public Council under the Ministry of Digital Transformation, held a virtual webinar with the Honourable Maurizio Bevilacqua, Mayor of the City of Vaughan, Canada. Their discussion focused on innovative Smart City solutions to transform cities around the world.

 Watch the webinar here: https://www.facebook.com/yuriy.nazarov.3/videos/2224752154324237

“Our discussion was focused on the main approaches that help place the City of Vaughan on the leading edge of innovation to adapt to a growing community that values sustainability and creativity. I enjoyed my discussion with Mayor Bevilacqua, and learned more about the role of the Mayor’s Smart City Task Force in the City’s development of a Smart City program, ” said Yuriy Nazarov.

“I want to express my warmest and sincerest gratitude and appreciation to Yuriy Nazarov and the dedicated team at Smart City UA for inviting me to participate in a webinar to address Smart City solutions on a global scale,” said Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua. “At the City of Vaughan, we remain focused on building a world-class city that encompasses long-lasting urban design and public spaces that foster community well-being for the present and future generations of Vaughan citizens.”

As a member of the World Council on City Data, the City of Vaughan helps to spearhead and lead the efforts on open data. Discussion topics included the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic on the community, the opening of Canada’s first smart technology hospital in the city, and smart solutions being utilized to advance modern medicine. Mayor Bevilacqua also discussed how the City of Vaughan has worked in collaboration with Ukraine to advance a global Smart City agenda.

“Vaughan leads with innovation, imagination, and creativity. Our city is home to the Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital -- Canada's first smart hospital, the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre -- our emerging downtown core, a subway, and much more. From improving infrastructure and roads to recreation and healthcare, taking a Smart City approach to our work is fundamental to delivering a high standard of living and exceptional quality of life,” said Mayor Bevilacqua.

Some interesting facts about the City of Vaughan:

Vaughan is one of the fastest-growing cities in Canada. The City created the Smart City program for the 2018-2022 Term of Council, which takes into account the digitalization of all areas of urban living. Vaughan also received the platinum ISO 13720 certificate in 2017 and 2018 from the World Council for Urban Data (WCCD) and was one of the first cities to apply the ISO 37122 standard - indicators of smart cities since the beginning of the pandemic. Vaughan has also created and modernized more than 160 innovative solutions and programs to ensure essential services continue uninterrupted as COVID-19 persists.

Today, Ukraine is still in the process of implementing the Smart City approach in modern cities and communities. “Ukrainian cities should consider the experience of Vaughan as an example of an integrated approach and effective planning in creating a smart city,” said Yuriy Nazarov.