IURC CoP9 Digital Strategy Deep-Dive Webinar Sparks Active Dialogue

On 25 March, the IURC Community of Practice on Data-driven and Digital Governance (CoP9) convened a deep-dive webinar, bringing together representatives from Barcelona, Incheon (Republic of Korea), and Kaohsiung (New Taipei) to present the city’s digital and AI-driven urban development.

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Barcelona’s Approach to Digital Public Services

Barcelona presented its approach to digital public services, highlighting how administrative services are increasingly delivered through integrated digital channels. A key focus of Barcelona’s strategy lies in building a robust data infrastructure.

Through the development of corporate geographic information services (Corporate GIS) and a Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI), Barcelona has established centralised data systems, metadata management, and visualisation tools to enhance accessibility and usability.

The presentation also emphasised the importance of data governance, noting that high-quality and well-structured data is fundamental to the success of digital services. In parallel, Barcelona continues to expand its e-government services by enabling online administrative procedures for citizens.

Looking ahead, the long-term goal is to expand this framework beyond internal use, enabling data sharing across municipalities within the metropolitan area and, eventually, with citizens.

Incheon’s “From Smart to AI City”

Incheon presented its strategic transition from a “smart city” to an “AI city,” positioning AI as a core driver of urban systems. As part of this shift, Incheon introduced its AI City Master Plan, highlighting its readiness for large-scale AI validation across the city, supported by regulatory flexibility under the Free Economic Zone framework.

Incheon highlighted that the “client” of an AI city is no longer limited to citizens alone, but increasingly includes the private sector, companies, and startup, introducing four key pillars of its strategy: 

• AI Urban Model: the overall architecture and operational framework for integrating AI across urban systems
• AI-Bio/Healthcare: leverages Incheon’s strong bio and healthcare cluster to develop sector-specific AI applications
• AI Startups: aims to foster and scale a dynamic startup ecosystem to drive innovation
• AI-based Urban Services: focuses on enhancing public services and improving quality of life through AI-driven solutions 

Emphasising the importance of international cooperation, Incheon identified the IURC programme as a key platform for collaboration and proposed a government-to-government MoU framework to support joint AI city development.

Kaohsiung’s Smart Traffic Ecosystem

Kaohsiung presented its smart city strategy, positioning itself as a “living lab” for innovation over the past five years, during which it has received more than 50 international awards. A core element of its approach is the integration of cross-departmental data into unified digital platforms, enabling more efficient, data-driven decision-making.

A key highlight of the presentation was the city’s smart traffic ecosystem, designed to address increasing mobility demands driven by industrial growth. By integrating data from CCTV, public transport systems, and various municipal departments, Kaohsiung has developed a comprehensive platform that supports real-time traffic monitoring and predictive analytics.

Beyond mobility, Kaohsiung also demonstrated how AI and data-driven systems are applied to disaster resilience and public services, including real-time water management, AI-based accident analysis, and digital tools for agriculture and emergency response.

Looking ahead, the city plans to further advance its smart city ecosystem through emerging technologies such as digital twins, vision-language models, and CityGPT.

Shared Priorities

The discussion following the presentations was highly engaging, exchanging shared challenges across participating cities. In particular, the need to develop centralised and standardised platforms that can be shared beyond individual cities emerged as a key priority. Cities also noted the rapid pace of technological change, emphasising the challenge of effectively integrating AI into urban systems.

With additional city presentations by Hamburg (Germany) and Osaka (Japan) scheduled in the coming weeks, there are growing expectations for more concrete exchanges, with the IURC programme set to further facilitate active and practical cooperation among partner cities.

Written by Yejin Lee, Project Associate in CityNet, IURC Korean Helpdesk

(korea.helpdesk@iurc.eu)