Tuesday 19 January 2016

World Council on City Data welcomes City of Vaughan – city receives ISO 37120 platinum certification


Today, during a City of Vaughan Council meeting, World Council on City Data (WCCD) President and CEO Dr. Patricia McCarney officially welcomed Vaughan to the WCCD and presented Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua with ISO 37120 platinum certification. 


Today Vaughan joins the World Council on City Data and an important global network of leading cities dedicated to sustainability and citizen quality of life supported by high caliber, standardized city data.  The WCCD network includes leading global cities such as, London, Los Angeles, Boston, Melbourne, Rotterdam, Barcelona and Dubai.



According to Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua: “Vaughan is leading the way in Canada and abroad as it reaches new heights in international recognition. My vision for Vaughan has always been clear – to build a city where people can live happy, healthy and fulfilling lives. As a member of the Global Cities Indicators Facility International Advisory Board – the organization that built this first ISO Standard for cities – I championed the importance and value of being part of this global initiative because it provides Vaughan with the opportunity to collaborate with and learn from more than 250 cities worldwide. Achieving ISO platinum certification by the World Council on City Data demonstrates our commitment to building a world-class city as we are one of two cities representing Canada on a global scale. This is a great opportunity to have first-hand access to a global knowledge hub and be among the most innovative cities in the world as we take Vaughan to the next level.”



Established in 2014, the WCCD is operationalising ISO 37120 across cities globally – the first international standard for indicators on city services and quality of life. With 100 indicators, across 17 themes supporting city services and quality of life, ISO 37120 data drives data informed decision-making and comparative learning across cities. The data is accessible through the WCCD Open City Data Portal which allows for cutting-edge visualisations and comparisons.



“Through the leadership of Mayor Bevilacqua, the City of Vaughan has become a model global city, demonstrating the importance of city data in planning for sustainability and prosperity, and harnessing open data for innovation. Mayor Bevilacqua has been instrumental in the development of this first ISO Standard for cities and he remains a strong advocate for standardized data if cities are to be built to ensure more sustainable and prosperous futures.  The WCCD is extremely pleased to welcome Vaughan as a WCCD ISO 37120 Certified Platinum city,” stated Dr. McCarney.



In addition to the WCCD Cities, the WCCD has agreements in place with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and UNISDR, the United Nations organization dedicated to disaster risk reduction, ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability and several national governments that will bring 100 new cities onto the WCCD Open City Data Platform in the coming months, see them certified as WCCD ISO 37120 cities, and discuss comparative knowledge and city innovations at the upcoming Global Cities Summit in Dubai in December 2016.



For further enquiries, please contact:

James Patava
+14169662368
“The World Council on City Data: Created by Cities, for Cities”
Twitter: @WCCityData 

Notes to editors: 

The certified WCCD Cities include: Amsterdam, Amman, Barcelona, Bogota, Boston, Buenos Aires, Dubai, Guadalajara, Haiphong, Helsinki, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Makati, Makkah, Minna, Melbourne, Rotterdam, Shanghai, and Toronto and Vaughan.

The World Council on City Data (WCCD) coordinates all efforts on open city data to ensure a consistent and comprehensive platform for standardized urban metrics. As a global leader on standardized indicators, the WCCD is also leading the efforts on global implementation of ISO 37120 – the first international standard on sustainable cities.

The WCCD has created the first certification system and Global Cities Registry™ for ISO 37120.  WCCD Certification and Registration for ISO 37120 enables cities to participate in the WCCD Open Data Portal for comparative data analytics and informed decision making.

The WCCD is a global hub for creative learning partnerships across cities, international organizations, corporate partners, and academia to further innovation, envision alternative futures, and build better and more livable cities.