The World Council on City Data (WCCD) is the global leader in standardized city data - creating smart, sustainable, resilient, and prosperous cities.

The WCCD hosts a network of innovative cities committed to improving services and quality of life with open city data and provides a consistent and comprehensive platform for standardized urban metrics. 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 liveable cities.

As a global leader on standardized metrics, the WCCD is implementing ISO 37120 Sustainable Development of Communities: Indicators for City Services and Quality of Life, the first international standard; created for cities, by cities. The WCCD has developed the first ISO 37120 certification system and the Global Cities Registry™.

ISO 37120 published in May 2014 by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), defines a comprehensive set of 100 standardized indicators that enables any city, of any size, to assess their performance and measure progress over time, and also draw comparative lessons from other cities.  The application of ISO 37120 delivers real benefits to cities by enabling them to:

  • Monitor the efficiency of city service delivery and effectiveness of city policies and programs;
  • Build frameworks for sustainability and resilience planning;
  • Evaluate the “impact” of infrastructure investments on the overall performance of a city;
  • Undertake local and international benchmarking; and
  • Draw on comparative lessons and share their experiences with other cities

The WCCD Global Cities Registry™ is the official list of cities that are certified against ISO 37120 in accordance with the WCCD certification system.  All cities in the Global Cities Registry™ have provided third-party verified data to the WCCD Open City Data Portal, allowing for city-to-city comparisons, cutting-edge visualizations and customized trend analyses.

Priorities as a partner of the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data

The WCCD is determined to leverage its high quality, standardized, and globally comparable city data to help cities and nations achieve their commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals. Moving beyond Goal 11, city-level data will be essential for all government to report on this broad-reaching Goals, which encompass topics such as hunger, gender equality, and sustainability, and the WCCD is prepared to lead the charge in doing so.