The technological, social, and economic effects of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) are rapidly changing the world around us. Nowhere is this more evident than in the world’s cities – where the density and diversity of human settlement creates perpetually evolving ecosystems ripe for innovation. City leadership must be aware and empowered to direct such transformation for the long term benefit of citizens, assuring that the efficiency of advanced technology is balanced by innovation in policy, that decisions are made on sound values as well as robust data, and that city Mayors stand ready to address the challenges and opportunities of their constituencies.

The World Economic Forum’s Cities and the Fourth Industrial Revolution project seeks to aid urban transformation through five pillars of consideration for city leaders: demonstrating visionary leadership, building local innovation systems, embedding smart regulation, establishing public private partnership and adopting global standards. To do so, the project will focus on understanding the unique needs of Mayors and providing them with tools and best practices both for assessing current city preparedness and moving forward their vision for the future. Activities will include content curation and development, experiential learning through workshops, and collaboration with Forum partners (including business, government, academics, and urban experts) to transform data sets available at local and global levels into tools that can enlighten and improve urban management.