Mandaue City maps smart city shift through data, digital governance

• DOST Secretary Renato U. Solidum Jr. and Mandaue City Mayor Thadeo Jovito M. Ouano taps on the screen during the ceremonial launch of Smart Mandaue Roadmap during the opening of the Regional Science, Technology, and Innovation Week in Central Visayas, Cebu City.

Mandaue City is advancing plans to become a smart and sustainable city by using integrated data, digital platforms, and science-based solutions to improve public services, urban planning, and disaster resilience.

The city government unveiled the “Smart Mandaue” Roadmap during the opening of the Regional Science, Technology, and Innovation Week in Central Visayas on July 13, in partnership with the Department of Science and Technology-Central Visayas.

Mandaue City Mayor Thadeo Jovito M. Ouano said the roadmap would guide the local government in using science, technology, and innovation to support its long-term development goals.

“[Smart Mandaue] did not change where we wanted to go, it strengthened how we got there. [This] serves as our guide in using STI to help us achieve the goals we have already set for our city,” Ouano said.

At the center of the roadmap is the Mandaue Digital Twin, a planned virtual model of the city that will consolidate information on traffic, infrastructure, mobility, environmental conditions, and development projects into a single platform.

The system is expected to combine Geographic Information Systems with CityMap, Mandaue’s existing online mapping platform, to provide city officials with a more detailed and updated view of local conditions.

“It (Mandaue Digital Twin) gives us better information, helps us anticipate challenges before they happen, and enables us to make a smarter decision while using public resources more responsibly,” Ouano said.

The city said the digital model could eventually support functions such as flood forecasting, traffic management, infrastructure planning, and the monitoring of development projects.

Through the DOST’s Smart and Sustainable Communities Program, the Smart Mandaue Roadmap also covers evidence-based policymaking, disaster resilience, environmental conservation, community empowerment, entrepreneurship, renewable energy, and public infrastructure.

Projects under the roadmap are scheduled to run until 2032 and will focus on governance, economic development, people’s welfare, infrastructure, sustainability, and resilience.

“We will continue to embrace innovation, not because technology is the future, but because it allows us to serve our people better today and build an even better Mandaue for tomorrow,” Ouano said.

Mandaue City is among the 152 local government units covered by the expanded implementation of the DOST’s Smart and Sustainable Communities Program.

DOST-Central Visayas also launched the Smart Community Consortium, a multi-stakeholder platform intended to coordinate smart city initiatives across the region.

The consortium will bring together government agencies, academic institutions, private companies, and communities to help local governments develop, adopt, and scale smart and sustainable solutions.

“[Collaborations] begin simply with one conversation, shared concern, one cup of coffee, or one institution reaching out to one another. But when we nurture these connections, they grow into programs, technologies, enterprises, and solutions that make a real difference in people’s lives,” DOST-Central Visayas Regional Director Tristan L. Abando said.

The Regional Science, Technology, and Innovation Week is a flagship DOST program that promotes science-based and inclusive solutions in human well-being, wealth creation, wealth protection, and sustainability.