What key issue is missing from the New Urban Agenda?

As part of the continuing Citiscope series on the New Urban Agenda, WCCD President and CEO expands upon what she see's as the key element missing from the document.

"Although the New Urban Agenda briefly mentions strengthening the data and statistical capacity of sub-national and local governments, it does not directly address the critical importance of data in achieving viable development goals or how a lack of reliable, comparative data has been a stumbling block for cities in the past. Worldwide, city governments are making efforts to address the complex challenges of inequality, climate change and infrastructure deficits, while attempting to chart a course to a sustainable, smart, resilient, prosperous and inclusive future for their citizens. However, without high-quality, standardized, city data to guide problem solving and decision making, these risks cannot be fully addressed. The World Council on City Data firmly believes that ISO 37120 can address this critical data deficit. Data is absolutely fundamental for citizens and governments to create transformative change. While statistics are gathered by national governments and international agencies, there are enormous gaps in comparable city-level data. Where urban indicators do exist, they are not standardized, consistent or comparable over time or across cities. Too often, municipal officials lack the capacity to implement local data strategies, and data is not accessible or usable by citizens seeking to participate in city building or to hold their leaders to account." 
— Patricia McCarney, President & CEO, World Council on City Data

Read the full article here