Cities have always symbolised opportunity, innovation, and human progress. Yet today, they are also at the epicentre of the climate crisis, hotbeds of inequality and environmental fragility.

For #WorldCitiesDay Aline argues that smart cities aren’t built with sensors and data alone, but with empathy, inclusion, and justice.

Smart cities need to be more than technologically advanced. They must put people, especially vulnerable families, at the centre of planning.

Guidance for adapting World Vision’s Regreening Communities model to urban areas, promoting climate resilience, equity, and sustainable cities.

Sibonginkosi Mungoni, the Senior Advisor Livelihoods and Economic Recovery in Emergencies, emphasises that resilience must be central to humanitarian programming, especially in fragile contexts where children are most vulnerable. She raises the alarm on long-term recovery being sidelined for short-term relief in the humanitarian reset conversation. She calls for integrated, child-centred approaches backed by flexible funding to ensure sustainable impact and protect children from recurring crises.

A practical guide for World Vision teams and partners to implement best-practice environmental management in field programs, operations, and facilities.

A case study on partnering in urban context

Dr. Kathryn Taetzsch explores the transformative impact of artificial intelligence on the humanitarian workforce, urging a proactive and ethically grounded response to its rapid integration. While AI is enhancing efficiency in disaster response, climate forecasting, and displacement prediction, it cannot replace the human-centric values—empathy, adaptability, and community focus—that define humanitarian work. She highlights the ‘silent reset’ faced by the sector, where AI’s rise risks deepening inequalities and displacing routine jobs unless humanitarian organisations invest in upskilling, ethical governance and locally led innovation.

World Vision Afghanistan supported 146,253 people with health, nutrition, WASH, food security, protection & child wellbeing from June–July 2025.