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Leandry Jieutsa
Urban Planning - Urban Innovation - Urban design
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Technology governance
My technology governance portfolio focuses on the ethical, inclusive, and context-sensitive integration of emerging technologies in urban environments. I work at the intersection of urban planning, technologies, and smart city strategies to support cities in navigating the opportunities and challenges of digital transformation. My expertise includes the design of governance frameworks for responsible AI deployment in cities, the evaluation of smart city initiatives, and the promotion of participatory digital governance models. My portfolio aims to ensure that technology enhances urban equity, transparency, and resilience, while remaining anchored in human rights, local needs, and long-term sustainability.
African cities magazine
As Editor of African Cities Magazine, I lead the editorial direction of a publication dedicated to showcasing innovative urban practices across the African continent. I oversee content curation, coordinate contributions from urban experts, and ensure thematic coherence across each edition. The magazine explores key topics such as sustainable urbanism, architecture, mobility, digital transformation, and heritage, with a strong focus on inclusive and locally rooted perspectives. I also manage a multidisciplinary team of writers, designers, and collaborators, while fostering partnerships to broaden the magazine’s reach. My role supports knowledge sharing and critical dialogue on Africa’s urban futures.
Multilevel Collaborative Governance to Foster Responsible AI Deployment in Cities
In this publication, I explore with Shin Koseki how multilevel collaborative governance can support the ethical and responsible deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) in cities, with a focus on underrepresented contexts such as small and medium-sized cities and those in the Global South. Through case studies of eThekwini (South Africa) and Thérèse-De Blainville (Quebec), we analyze how local governments navigate technical, financial, and ethical challenges in AI implementation. We investigate how collaboration across public, private, and nonprofit sectors helps bridge capacity gaps while raising complex issues of accountability and power. This research highlights the need for context-aware, inclusive governance frameworks and contributes practical recommendations for policymakers and urban planners. It positions multilevel collaboration as a key enabler of fair, transparent, and effective AI integration in diverse urban settings.
Digital governance for inclusive and sustainable African cities
I developed the structure and content of the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) "Digital Governance for Inclusive and Sustainable African Cities", coordinated the video recordings, oversaw the course launch, and animated the community of learners. This MOOC responds to the rapid urban transformation in Africa by exploring how emerging technologies—such as AI, big data, IoT, and mobile banking—can improve transparency, citizen participation, and service delivery in African cities. Divided into three modules, the course provides city leaders, policymakers, and practitioners with tools, case studies, and expert insights to harness digital innovation for urban resilience, inclusion, and sustainability.
Policy framework for digital resilience in education in Kenya and Morocco
As the project manager for the study "Digital Resilience in Education for a Better Recovery after COVID-19 in Morocco and Kenya," conducted in collaboration with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), I led efforts to enhance digital inclusion in education within these countries. My responsibilities encompassed securing funding from the ITU's Connect2Recover initiative, overseeing the research process—which involved organizing reflection workshops, conducting data collection, and compiling the final report—and presenting our findings at the 17th Internet Governance Forum (IGF) held from November 28 to December 2, 2022, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This study aimed to assess the digital divide in emergency remote education during the pandemic and to propose policy recommendations for fostering digital resilience in the education sectors of Morocco and Kenya.
Urban 5G
As the project manager for the "Urban 5G" initiative in Montreal, I led efforts to seamlessly integrate 5G antennas into the city's urban landscape. This involved creating detailed design specifications for antennas that harmonize with Montreal's aesthetic and architectural character. To foster inclusive and innovative design solutions, I organized a co-design workshop utilizing artificial intelligence, bringing together diverse stakeholders to collaboratively define integration strategies for 5G infrastructure. These initiatives aimed to minimize the visual impact of 5G deployment while enhancing connectivity, ensuring that technological advancement aligns with the city's cultural and visual identity.
Epathic neighbourhood
I contributed to the Empathic Neighborhoods project, an initiative focused on reimagining living environments where technology serves collective well-being. As part of a multidisciplinary advisory committee, I helped define the project’s conceptual foundations, emphasizing inclusion, resilience, and sustainability. My role involved analyzing best practices, identifying relevant technologies, and exploring how innovation can support more equitable and livable neighborhoods. I also co-authored the project's first publication—a guideline that introduces the core principles of Empathic Neighborhoods and outlines pathways for their implementation in Quebec cities and beyond, aiming to inspire more human-centered approaches to smart urban development.
Ethical urban AI in practice monograph
I contributed to the CIDOB Monograph “Ethical urban AI in practice: policy mechanisms to establish local governance frameworks”, which investigates how cities can implement responsible AI through ethical governance frameworks. The monograph explores key principles—accountability, transparency, privacy, fairness, and sustainability—and illustrates how they can be embedded in urban contexts via concrete policy mechanisms. My chapter focuses specifically on fairness and non-discrimination, and is divided into three sections. It begins by unpacking these concepts in urban settings and identifying the factors that influence equitable AI. It then examines both the opportunities and risks that AI presents for cities and urban communities. The final section proposes actionable policy recommendations to help cities become fairer and more inclusive as they adopt AI technologies. These recommendations consider cities' evolving roles—as solution developers, technology deployers, and regulators—and emphasize local participation, agility, and sociotechnical innovation. I also supported the dissemination of this work through events and webinars.
EVADIA +
EVADIA+ is a research initiative led by the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape at the University of Montreal, aiming to develop an AI tool that enhances public participation in urban planning processes. Co-developed with leading Quebec-based organizations such as MILA and IVADO, the project focuses on integrating ethical and inclusive AI in urban governance. As research assistant, I played a key role in stakeholder engagement, organizing capacity-building workshops to strengthen participants' understanding of AI-related issues. I also supported the overall coordination of the project, ensuring inclusive dialogue and collaboration throughout its development and implementation phases.
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