The future energy sector will be far different and far more sophisticated than the energy networks we relied on in the 20th century. And it's essential that city decision makers and building professionals understand what that future will look like.
Energy is essential for cities. Without it, the city services we rely on and our homes would be unable to function. Because it is esential and interconnected with all of the services cities provide, energy deserves to be a key foundation for your smart city planning.
Data is essential for smart city operations, but how it's stored is often neglected. In our story we take a look at what a resilient, energy-efficient data centre should look like and the benefits it can provide for smart cities.
Some of today’s greatest cities benefitted from visionaries who – centuries ago – saw possibilities for civic betterment and made it happen. A compelling example comes from leaders back in the 1800s. Way before the phrase “urban sprawl” had entered our psyche, they committed to preserving vast amounts of open spaces for public use. Think of Hyde Park in London, Central Park jutting through Manhattan or Ueno Park in Tokyo. They are all testaments to leaders “thinking outside the box” a very long time ago.
“More with less” is one of the promises of smart city technology -- and nowhere is this more true than in payments and finance. By leveraging the techniques explained in this chapter, city governments can spend less while offering citizens more benefits, more convenience and more inclusion. Today cities are the hub of world economic growth, generating an estimated 80% of global GDP, according to the World Bank. Yet many cities are severely challenged by rising (or slowing) population growth, by aging or inadequate infrastructure, by increasing operational costs and by “do more with less” austerity pressures.
Ubiquitous broadband telecommunication is a prerequisite for a smart city. This chapter explains how to achieve a telecommunications architecture that can serve as the foundation of a smart city and the foundation for major improvements in livability, workability and sustainability. We begin by defining telecommunications, both as it exists today and as it will evolve tomorrow. After we discuss the “what,” we’ll talk about the “why” – why telecommunications is so vital to smart city success. We’ll finish by discussing the targets for telecommunications – the end states at which you should aim your efforts. Along the way, we will pay brief visits to telecommunications success stories from around the world.
A city isn’t smart because it uses technology. A city is smart because it uses technology to make its citizens’ lives better. This chapter focuses on the “secret sauce” that turns the idea of a smart city into reality – the people who live in the city, who work in the city and the people who have hopes and dreams for the kind of city they will leave for future generations.
Some of today’s greatest cities benefitted from visionaries who – centuries ago – saw possibilities for civic betterment and made it happen. A compelling example comes from leaders back in the 1800s. Way before the phrase “urban sprawl” had entered our psyche, they committed to preserving vast amounts of open spaces for public use. Think of Hyde Park in London, Central Park jutting through Manhattan or Ueno Park in Tokyo. They are all testaments to leaders “thinking outside the box” a very long time ago.
From the standpoint of the average citizen, public safety is one of the most visible and perhaps most understood of city responsibilities. We see aid vehicles, lights flashing as they race to the scene of an accident. We watch firefighters on the nightly news risking life and limb to save people from burning buildings. And we pass police officers on bikes and on foot as they patrol city streets. Today’s advanced technologies are keeping them – and their communities – safer.
Advances in information and communications technologies (ICT) will transform the delivery of essential health, education and other human services in powerful ways – and smart cities will ride the wave to ensure a better life for their residents.