“Smart cities are those who manage their resources efficiently. Traffic, public services and disaster response should be operated intelligently in order to minimize costs, reduce carbon emissions and increase performance.”
– Eduardo PaesSmart City, a concept that has become quite famous these days. It belongs to those very rare words that become a buzzword in a very short span of time.
Against the background of economic and technological changes caused by the globalization, cities everywhere face the challenge of combining competitiveness and sustainable urban development simultaneously. Very evidently, this challenge is likely to have an impact on issues of Urban Quality such as housing, economy, culture, social and environmental conditions. Smart Cities focus on these most pressing needs and on the greatest opportunities to improve lives for citizens.
Technology is playing a bigger role in helping to make city life run more smoothly, from networks of sensors that offer information about how traffic is flowing or where water pipes are leaking to apps designed to help citizens get the most out of their city.
A smart city is an urban region that is highly advanced in terms of overall infrastructure and communications. It is a city where the basis for providing vital services to citizens and the principal infrastructure is controlled completely by information technology. There are, off course many technological platforms involved, including but not limited to automated sensor networks and data centers.
The concept of smart cities has been devised in 2008 by IBM. Ironically, it’s the same year when the complete world was facing one of the worst economic crises in the history.
IBM began work on a smarter cities concept as part of its Smarter Planet initiative. And just within a year, the concept had enchanted various nations across the globe.Countries like South Korea, UAE and China began to invest heavily into their research and formation. Today, a number of excellent patterns and practices exist that India can emulate, such as those in Vienna, Aarhus, Amsterdam, Cairo, Lyon, Málaga, Malta, the Songdo International Business District near Seoul, Verona etc.Elements of Smart city:
1. Adequate Water Supply
2. Assured Electricity Supply
3. Sanitation, including Solid Waste Management
4. Efficient Urban Mobility and Public Transport
5. Affordable Housing (especially for the poor)
6. Robust IT Connectivity and Digitization
7. Good Governance (especially e-Governance and citizen participation)
8. Sustainable Environment
9. Safety and Security of citizens (particularly women, children and the elderly)
10.Health
11. Education
12. Parking
13. Well managed lighting
With increasing urbanization and an increasing pressure on the rural land, the Indian government has now recognized the need for cities that can cope with the challenges of urban living and can also become magnets for investment. The nomination of 98 smart cities falls perfectly in line with this vision.To achieve the desired results, these cities have to aim on identifying their strengths and weaknesses. They will also have to identify their chances for positioning and ensuring and extending comparative advantages in certain key resources against other cities of the same level.
The best part is this project, does not just deal with the leading Indian metropolises but also, with medium-sized cities and their perspectives for development.Though this sounds too advanced and futuristic, it is now likely to become a reality as the smart cities movement has started to unfold in India.Wondering what more can be offered as part of a Smart City. Well, the horizon is wide and its just the beginning of a new life…
“A truly ‘smart city’ should also possess other dimensions – it should be a palimpsest of creative, bottom-up civic engagement”
- Prof Carlo Ratti
– Eduardo PaesSmart City, a concept that has become quite famous these days. It belongs to those very rare words that become a buzzword in a very short span of time.
Against the background of economic and technological changes caused by the globalization, cities everywhere face the challenge of combining competitiveness and sustainable urban development simultaneously. Very evidently, this challenge is likely to have an impact on issues of Urban Quality such as housing, economy, culture, social and environmental conditions. Smart Cities focus on these most pressing needs and on the greatest opportunities to improve lives for citizens.
Technology is playing a bigger role in helping to make city life run more smoothly, from networks of sensors that offer information about how traffic is flowing or where water pipes are leaking to apps designed to help citizens get the most out of their city.
A smart city is an urban region that is highly advanced in terms of overall infrastructure and communications. It is a city where the basis for providing vital services to citizens and the principal infrastructure is controlled completely by information technology. There are, off course many technological platforms involved, including but not limited to automated sensor networks and data centers.
The concept of smart cities has been devised in 2008 by IBM. Ironically, it’s the same year when the complete world was facing one of the worst economic crises in the history.
IBM began work on a smarter cities concept as part of its Smarter Planet initiative. And just within a year, the concept had enchanted various nations across the globe.Countries like South Korea, UAE and China began to invest heavily into their research and formation. Today, a number of excellent patterns and practices exist that India can emulate, such as those in Vienna, Aarhus, Amsterdam, Cairo, Lyon, Málaga, Malta, the Songdo International Business District near Seoul, Verona etc.Elements of Smart city:
1. Adequate Water Supply
2. Assured Electricity Supply
3. Sanitation, including Solid Waste Management
4. Efficient Urban Mobility and Public Transport
5. Affordable Housing (especially for the poor)
6. Robust IT Connectivity and Digitization
7. Good Governance (especially e-Governance and citizen participation)
8. Sustainable Environment
9. Safety and Security of citizens (particularly women, children and the elderly)
10.Health
11. Education
12. Parking
13. Well managed lighting
With increasing urbanization and an increasing pressure on the rural land, the Indian government has now recognized the need for cities that can cope with the challenges of urban living and can also become magnets for investment. The nomination of 98 smart cities falls perfectly in line with this vision.To achieve the desired results, these cities have to aim on identifying their strengths and weaknesses. They will also have to identify their chances for positioning and ensuring and extending comparative advantages in certain key resources against other cities of the same level.
The best part is this project, does not just deal with the leading Indian metropolises but also, with medium-sized cities and their perspectives for development.Though this sounds too advanced and futuristic, it is now likely to become a reality as the smart cities movement has started to unfold in India.Wondering what more can be offered as part of a Smart City. Well, the horizon is wide and its just the beginning of a new life…
“A truly ‘smart city’ should also possess other dimensions – it should be a palimpsest of creative, bottom-up civic engagement”
- Prof Carlo Ratti