2018 HLPF Side Event on Shaping Smarter and More Sustainable Cities: Striving for Sustainable Development Goals" held on 12 July 2018 in New York provided a platform to debate the impact of frontier technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and Internet of Things (IoT) on cities, to present current national and international initiatives such as the United for Smart Sustainable Cities and to discuss the challenges and opportunities faced in shaping smart and sustainable cities at the local level.