To leave this world in better shape for the next generations, we must change our thinking about how we govern and evolve our cities and municipalities. We need a more holistic approach that acknowledges the complexity of tackling societal challenges. Technology can only take us so far. Social values, citizen involvement and trust need to play much stronger roles in the process of managing this change.

Every day we face societal dilemmas in our habitats that cannot be solved without more care for the environment and more attention to the social impact of our actions. The ultimate challenge is to transform the elements in our societies that are unequal, linear, polluting, unsafe and resource demanding, into societies that are liveable, dynamic, inclusive, green andresilient.

This challenge cannot be solved within geographical, political or cultural silos.The Nordic countries acknowledge the need for cross-sector, cross-boundary collaboration to build on the best ideas and achievements from around the world. Through such a boundaryless exchange of concepts and experiences, we can create new market opportunities for companies, new areas of research and development, and – ultimately – better communities for people to live in,today and for the future.

With this joint Nordic Smart City Roadmap we want to promote principles –conceptual, ethical and political guidelines – that honour a more human centric, inclusive and collaborative approach to developing smarter and more sustainable communities.

We believe it can serve as a framework for smart city work in cities and municipalities both in the Nordics and internationally. Our ambition is to demonstrate practical ways of applying the principles of the Nordic SmartCity Roadmap - to overcome the barriers and develop sound solutions that benefit cities and municipalities, the business community and, ultimately, the citizens.