The idea behind technology making us “smarter” is that it has allowed us to become, better, higher performing, more capable beings. The same concept applies to smart cities, wherein technology has made cities more efficient, productive, and streamlined. Because of the complex nature of urban environments, their high population density, and their fast-paced business culture, having the right tools to meet demands and continuously improve processes is critical.
Smart cities, birthed from a combination of both necessity and innovation, have come a long way since their initial conception. Proponents of the smart city vision see smart cities as well-oiled, multi-component machines that successfully manage a city’s assets across all industries through the use of technology. The ultimate goal of the smart city is to improve the quality of life for every single resident, from corporate workers to school children. The demand for smart cities is fuelled by a number of factors, which include climate change, population growth, the need for energy conservation, and economic / financial pressures. In many ways, smart cities are still in the early development phase; with that said, where are smart cities headed, and what can we expect to see from them in the next few years?
The emergence of smart city consulting
One of the biggest challenges with smart cities is having the right people and strategies behind them. Getting a team together with the proper expertise is no easy feat, which is why there is a movement to create smart city consulting firms. According to an article published by ReadWrite, a group of former municipal U.S. government leaders have come together to launch a smart city consulting firm called CityFi. The members of CityFi all possess high-level experience and a deep understanding of urban areas, having served as leaders in major cities such as L.A., D.C., and Chicago. Their job is to advise cities and corporations on the concept of urbanization, and the importance of focusing on the details rather than seeing a smart city as a singular, giant project.
Big data as a problem solver
Big data is making its way into smart cities, and this is only just the beginning. It is no surprise that the Internet of Things of things will play an important role in smart city development on a number of levels. According to a recent Forbes article, Google is taking an otherwise simple concept and combining it with big data and machine learning in order to solve the one problem that every single city across the globe currently faces: congestion. Google believes that the best way to tackle congestion is to fix the lack of adequate city parking, which the company will achieve through a combination of data collected from Google Maps, Streetview, smartphone sensors, and parking meter sensors. Google’s approach to smart cities is actually quite ingenious, because it recognizes that congestion is not an isolated problem, and that reducing congestion will have a far greater impact than just improving road efficiency and reducing parking wait times.
In conclusion, the potential for smart cities is extremely promising, and therefore it comes as no surprise that, according to analysts at Technavio, the global smart city market will grow at a CAGR of nearly 20% by 2020. The future of smart cities will be driven by approaches that focus on tackling the smaller, underlying challenges, rather than those that see the smart city as one big entity. While the implementation of new technologies will certainly be an integral part of their development, there will be equal focus placed on careful planning and effective strategy-building.
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