Shenzhen won the Smart Cities Award in recognition of its achievements in the construction of intelligent transportation networks at the two-day online UNESCO Netexplo Forum 2020 that closed yesterday.

The forum consisted of two parts: Netexplo Innovation Forum 2020 and Netexplo Smart Cities Accelerator.

The innovation forum showcased 10 breakthrough digital innovations with the potential of profound and lasting impact on the digital society. The innovations are observed worldwide through a yearlong study by the Netexplo University Network.

The Netexplo Smart Cities Accelerator program shares the best practices on smart cities all around the world and helps decision-makers to seize the opportunities offered by smart cities to improve the lives of people.

Shenzhen, home to some of China’s most innovative companies, positions itself as a laboratory for China on the leading edge of sustainable development policies, according to the forum.

It is the first major city in the world to switch to an all-electric bus fleet with an estimated 16,000 vehicles. In 2019, 99 percent of the city’s 21,689 taxis were electric, with 100 percent the target for 2020. It boasts 40,000 charging stations and a network of 8,000 lampposts used as charging stations for electric vehicles.

“Shenzhen is the greatest city with important landmark significance that will be portrayed in the history of human urban development in the future. We hope UNESCO and Netexplo will work with Shenzhen to advance mankind to a new and great era of science and technology and artificial intelligence,” Thierry Happe, chairman of Netexplo, said at the forum.

In a letter to Happe, Shenzhen’s transport bureau shared its ideas and plans on smart transportation with experts and scholars participating in the forum.

New technologies have been widely applied in the transportation sector in the city, which has worked out the standard system and construction guidance for road facilities of autonomous driving.

The Smart Cities Award also went to nine other cities. They are Medellin of Colombia, Espoo of Finland, Dakar of Senegal, Surat of India, Santiago of Chile, Vienna of Austria, Austin of the U.S., Tallinn, capital of Estonia, and Singapore.

Netexplo is an independent observatory that studies the impact of digital tech on society and business. It has been a UNESCO partner since 2011.

Created in 2007 in France, the Netexplo Observatory explores the world for new uses of digital tech through its international spotting network, made up of globally renowned universities in the technology sphere.