17 September 2020, Redlands, California, USA - Esri, a global leader in location intelligence, announced today it entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with UN-Habitat. Under the agreement UN-Habitat will use Esri software to develop a cloud-based geospatial technology foundation to help build inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable cities and communities worldwide in areas where resources are scarce.
“As a centre of knowledge and innovation for a better future, UN-Habitat is committed to supporting and spreading the use of technology for development,” said Marco Kamiya, senior economist, Knowledge and Innovation Branch, UN-Habitat.
“Digital technologies have the potential to serve people, as well as improve living and working conditions. Through this partnership with Esri, we take another step forward toward supporting sustainable development with the use of frontline technology that can serve cities and communities.”
UN-Habitat will now be able to leverage specific geospatial tools and open data capabilities from the Esri platform to improve the efficiency and sustainability of urban infrastructure and service delivery in regions where development is needed. These technological resources will include the ArcGIS Hub, which was implemented to build the Global Urban Observatory’s Urban Indicators Database site, launched earlier this year at the Tenth World Urban Forum in Abu Dhabi.
“We are honoured to provide tools that can empower neighbourhoods, villages, and cities around the world to solve complex economic and environmental challenges,” said Carmelle Terborgh, Esri’s lead account manager for global organizations.
“We are pleased to enhance our collaboration with UN-Habitat by formalizing our joint commitment to using data-driven methods to achieve one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals—making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.”
As part of this agreement, Esri will provide free licenses for its ArcGIS software to 50 local governments in resource-constrained countries. Esri has already supported six municipalities in Fiji and the Solomon Islands in collaboration with the UN-Habitat Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific to start acting on this commitment. The partnership also involves the creation and delivery of joint capacity-building resources, such as free online learning modules on urban planning, to train and help build each local community’s technology capacity with a focus on ensuring long-term sustainability.
To learn more about how global communities are using Esri software to become more resilient and sustainable, visit esri.com/en-us/industries/needs/planning-sustainability.
About UN-Habitat
UN-Habitat works in over 90 countries supporting people in cities and human settlements for a better urban future. Working with governments and local partners, its high impact projects combine world-class expertise and local knowledge to deliver timely and targeted solutions. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development includes a dedicated Goal on cities, SDG 11, to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. Visit us at https://unhabitat.org/
About Esri
Esri, the global market leader in geographic information system (GIS) software, location intelligence, and mapping, helps customers unlock the full potential of data to improve operational and business results. Founded in 1969, Esri software is deployed in more than 350,000 organizations including 90 of the Fortune 100 companies, all 50 state governments, more than half of all counties (large and small), and 87 of the Forbes Top 100 Colleges in the USA, as well as all 15 Executive Departments of the U.S. Government and dozens of independent agencies. With its pioneering commitment to geospatial information technology, Esri engineers the most advanced solutions for digital transformation, the Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics. Visit us at esri.com.
For more information contact
Susannah Price – UN-Habitat Chief of Communications and Media susannah.price@un.org