His Highness Prince Dr. Faisal bin Abdulaziz bin Ayyaf, Mayor of the Riyadh Region, honored the team of the Urban Data Center at the Riyadh Municipality in recognition of their achievement in winning the Excellence Award in the category of Smart Cities and Urban Planning at the Geospatial World Forum (GWF 2025). The event was recently held in Madrid, Spain, as part of the prestigious Geospatial World Forum — one of the leading global events specialized in geospatial analysis technologies.
This recognition reflects the Riyadh Municipality’s successful implementation of cutting-edge geospatial technologies in creating and managing urban data and linking it with planning applications. This approach enhances decision-making efficiency, supports sustainable urban planning, and contributes to achieving the Quality of Life objectives for the city of Riyadh.
The Urban Data Center is considered one of the pioneering initiatives adopted by the Municipality. It plays a key role in advancing the digital transformation journey by providing advanced technological solutions that enable relevant authorities to effectively respond to the fast-evolving challenges and opportunities in a dynamic urban environment.
The center focuses on building an integrated spatial database using the latest technologies to ensure quality, speed, and continuity. This effort has led to the development of dynamic digital dashboards for urban indicators, transforming data into visual and scientific insights that support decision-makers and increase the success rate of implementing projects and initiatives.
The concept of urban indicators is based on treating the city as an integrated analytical unit that brings together various sectors involved in urban development. The center works on defining a general framework for these indicators based on standardized criteria aligned with the Municipality’s goals.
The center ultimately aims to empower the Municipality’s agencies and departments to make decisions based on reliable data, within an integrated system that enhances the efficiency of urban planning and supports its positive impact across the city.