XJTLU, UN-Habitat, and Suwon launch pioneering report at WUF13

On 20 May 2026, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) hosted a World Urban Forum 13 (WUF13) Urban Library event titled “Co-producing Adequate Housing Monitoring: Smart Inclusive Transitions towards Equitable Cities (SIT)”.

In collaboration with UN-Habitat’s Knowledge and Innovation Branch, Suwon Research Institute, Suwon Special City, and Seoul National University, the event marked the launch of “Smart Inclusive Transitions (SIT) for an Equitable Urban Future in Suwon”, a milestone publication documenting the first full application of the SIT Framework in Suwon Special City, South Korea.

Led by XJTLU and Seoul National University, the report shows how cities can assess whether smart urban transformation is improving quality of life, regardless of age, gender, and location, and how the SIT monitoring framework can move beyond assessment to inform governance, budgeting, policy coordination, and service delivery.

Dr Robert Ndugwa, Head of Data and Analytics at UN-Habitat highlighted: “A key contribution of the report is proof of the methodology which allows cities to bring together key data sets from the Global Urban Monitoring Framework with data from citizens and the local policy level, to understand the complex interconnections that make up cities.”

Dr Jaemin Song from Seoul National University said that digital innovation like this can power co-production and collaborative governance in cities.

“However, strong digital innovation does not by itself guarantee equity, because it may not reach the most vulnerable populations. As high overall scores of the cities can hide critical vulnerabilities, effective urban analysis must be able to zoom out for the big picture while drilling down into the specific details,” she added.

The following discussion, chaired by Dr Juhyun Lee from XJTLU’s Department of Urban Planning and Design, highlighted the potential of the SIT Framework to support future city-to-city learning and international cooperation.

Hakeem Badejo, President of the Association of Town Planning Consultants of Nigeria, captured the participatory spirit of the session: “We should not plan cities ‘for’ humans; we should plan them ‘with’ humans.”

Following the launch of the Suwon report, XJTLU, UN-Habitat, and partner institutions will continue to expand the SIT Framework through applications in Liverpool and other cities.

From Left: Dr Sophie Sturup, Dr Jaemin Song, Dr Minjin Park, Dr Robert Ndugwa, Dr Juhyun Lee, Hakeem Badejo, Dr Giulio Verdini

By Yi Qian

Edited by Xinmin Han