The smart city unpacked (click the image for a short video by the BBC)
Most of us probably think of high-tech smarts when we hear the words "smart city". The short BBC video clip embedded in this page does focus on technology-driven living and urbanisation (with some potential future dystopia thrown in). The concept and application of the smart city (or smart town) is more than implementing the latest technology and digital solutions, such as digital twins to improve urban design and "everything being data-linked" for greater efficiency. It is most closely associated with the "a mindset to achieve good urban places" in the urban model. It is about using smart thinking towards the physical urban layout and the ecological and socio-economic parts of the urban system. When it comes to achieving benefits, a smart city (or town) initiative can contribute towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda for people, the planet and prosperity if people are willing to integrate the SDGs into its design.
Glossy marketing images of smart cities makes them look like utopian environments of bliss – spotlessly clean streets, perfect parks, terrific transport and beautiful buildings. A smart city (or town) should certainly use appropriate digitisation and technology to achieve practical sustainability and resilience goals, and in reality this includes delivering practical, low-level and basic improvements as well as some shiny new projects.
The Swiss management school IMD, which has a centre for Smart Cities called the Smart City Observatory, defines a smart city as “an urban area that has become more efficient and/or more environmentally friendly and/or more socially inclusive through the use of digital technologies. The goal of a smart city is to improve its attractiveness to citizens and/or businesses by enhancing and/or adding city services.”
A “city / town service” is anything the city or town offers to its citizens or businesses, including lighting, traffic management, public parking, electricity, waste management and other services. Services can also be thought of as platforms for businesses to use. The improvement of existing or creation of new citizen or business services, with the help of digital technologies where appropriate, helps a city / town to be smarter. The benefits of any smart city / town initiative should be clearly set out before a "smart project" starts, and they should be continuously monitored for how they contribute to the city / town overall vision and roadmap. Properly considered smart city strategies can introduce new skills, create new jobs and improve sustainable economic development. They can also help with our resilience against major hazards such as large storms, flooding and wildfires.
Good governance is required to manage smart city initiatives. The protection of all types of data (for the city / town and for its citizens) is paramount, by ensuring it is properly managed and kept secure. This is just one example of the value of applying systems thinking to achieve the best outcomes from any Smart City initiative.
Image credit: the BBC
Smart city (and town) strategies, plans and governance
Many national governments around the world have published smart city strategies and plans to support local municipalities with an overarching strategy. Many cities and municipalities have also published smart city plans.
Estimates of the size and future growth of the smart city market vary, but it generally agreed to be a large and growing “market sector”. One study has estimated that the market may be worth US$238bn globally by 2025. Another estimates the market value to be worth US$327bn by this time. A separate analysis predicts that it may be worth approx. US$670bn by 2028, up from about US$100bn in 2020 (with strong annual growth, and probably beyond). Whilst this economic growth seems exciting, it must not become a "self-serving cottage industry".
Some see the smart city as “the intersection of digital technology, disruptive innovation and urban environments”. Others see it as “a place where traditional networks and services are made more efficient with the use of digital and telecommunication technologies”. To some, it is "a revolutionary blueprint for the 21st Century urban neighbourhood” that merges the “physical and digital realms.” Their definition should be kept simple - they should be introduced to help cities and towns be thriving, greener and resilient places.
Can and should smart city capabilities and maturity be measured? The IMD Smart City Observatory Smart City Index looks at the context to a city (it’s background factors), the Priority Areas that it is focusing on (using 15 criteria), the Attitudes that exist (as part of socio-economics of the city / town, such as people’s willingness and trust to share their data) and five elements of Structure & Technology (health & safety, mobility, activities, opportunities and governance). The Observatory's Smart City Index 2023 profiles many cities around the world on how well they are adopting smart city principles. In 2023 Zurich claimed top spot, with Oslo second and Canberra third.
As more local governments digitise services and integrate new technologies into the fabric of their operations, it is important that equality and inclusion are stitched into these efforts. Good data management is critical. A July 2021 White Paper Report by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with Deloitte, Governing Smart Cities, describes how many cities are adopting new technologies, but they have not all implemented basic policies for data privacy, accessibility and cybersecurity. The G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance has developed policy benchmarks for foundational policies that cities should adopt for ethical smart city development. The G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance on Technology Governance, which was set up in June 2019, draws together municipal, regional and national governments, private-sector partners and the residents of cities around a shared set of principles for the responsible and ethical use of smart city technologies.
Socio-economic aspects of smart cities, and inclusiveness in design
Socio-economics need to be part of smart urban design. Smart city ideas and plans need to be discussed with different stakeholder groups as part of good city / municipal governance. Relevant ISO standards such as ISO 37122:2019 (Sustainable cities and communities – Indicators for smart cities) may help with guidance. People's data privacy and records, and their fundamental rights, must be upheld at all times (indeed, strengthened if possible through smart city initiatives).
Smart urban design should ensure that existing and new urban environments have appropriate smart inclusive solutions in place for people with disabilities and mobility difficulties - including how to make a product or a service accessible to all who may use it, and how to cater for specific needs of certain groups. Inclusiveness includes allowing all citizens to notify municipal authorities of any problems they see that need to be checked / fixed, such as damage to street furniture, sidewalks or pavements. It also includes allowing them to participate in valuable data collection schemes such as knowing about specific aspects of nature such as tree health and what plants exist where.
Training about smart city principles exists. For example, the Institute for Urban Research (IUR) at Malmö University in Sweden has created a free Smart Cities for City Officials online training programme which offers eight online modules of 30-60 minutes each which look at smart cities from a social sciences perspective.
Some examples of smart city solutions and applications
Smart city solutions help cities and towns in many ways. A small number are noted below. An overall smart city plan (which should be part of a broader overarching urban strategy) should describe appropriate linkages between initiatives. A key tenet to such solutions is how authorities engage with citizens and businesses for feedback while ideas are still on the drawing board, not waiting till they are in place and then asking people what they think (this links to the urban model factor of "involving everyone").
Transport
Smart solutions can help to improve public transit and traffic management - ideally as part of a broader transport & mobility plan. A digital twin of an existing transport network, perhaps supported by sensors to track transport movement, can help to improve the efficiency of transport grids. They can help with the engagement process to agree the best transport & mobility infrastructure for the future (linking to a city / town vision), with visual projections and simulations created to discuss with citizens and businesses.
Energy
Urban areas can benefit from smart energy solutions, as has been demonstrated by projects such as the EnergyLab Nordhavn in Copenhagen. As the International Energy Agency (IEA) describe in a 2021 Report, there are many opportunities to be more efficient with energy in urban areas, from smart streetlamps to self-cooling buildings, smart electric car chargers to smart grids. Investing in city--and-town-level action to achieve energy efficiency with smart solutions can have major climate adaptation benefits.
Water
The world’s water resources are increasingly stressed as our demand for fresh water rises. We must value water to a greater extent, and smart water management can help save water in various ways at home, in businesses and across the water infrastructure network (all linked to caring for our reserves of water with good water stewardship).
Disaster Hazards and Vulnerabilities
Smart city initiatives can contribute towards resilience against disaster hazards, and to address vulnerabilities. Smart urban planning can reduce the impacts that a hazard such as a storm, flooding, wildfire or an earthquake can have. Technology solutions to involve and engage different groups of people can help with the design of urban systems to be resilient to disaster hazards. It is important to embed this mindset at the inception stage of a smart city project or initiative. Smart solutions can help to support early warning communications (the UN has an Early Warnings for All initiative) to give communities vital time to prepare for approaching hazards, and to hopefully avoid a disaster (which is described in the Urban Disaster Threats section). For example, installing integrated sensors and monitoring can help as part of (not to replace) a range of alerting options for citizens and businesses (e.g. by text messages) to danger. How such solutions are shared with citizens of urban environments so that they are used effectively to save lives is linked to the effectiveness of citizen-based planning.
Waste management
Smart solutions might be able to support waste management - it depends on the context to the city / town. Sensors to monitor waste levels in rubbish / refuse bins probably doesn't add much value if collection services are a set number of times per day anyway. Perhaps there is value in solar-powered waste collection bins that can compress rubbish / trash.
Agri-tech and food
Smart city agri-tech and food initiatives might be key to developing sustainable food solutions, which are crucial to how we will sustain our urban populations in future. Such initiatives could be in the form of providing a platform for businesses to invest in urban farms and new technology for smart agriculture.
A few smart city geographic examples (many others are available) are provided below:
Singapore
Singapore’s Smart Nation plan envisages a leading economy powered by digital innovation, and a world-class city, with a government that provides its citizens with the best homes possible, and responds to their varied and changing needs. Singapore's plan is linked into an ASEAN Smart Cities Network. Their Smart Nation strategy is tied to their economy to help drive growth and competitiveness. The plan is underpinned by an approach to ensure all parts of society can make the most of digital technology.
The London digital framework
In September 2021, London published an Emerging Technology Charter for London: a set of practical and ethical guidelines for the trialling and deployment of new data-enabled technology deployed in public services or the public realm in London (known as smart city technology).
Due to the rapid pace and range of technological change, the Charter aims to consolidate lessons learned from smart city projects and to facilitate guidance to buyers, makers and citizens across the various public, research bodies and civil society.
Digitisation of services in Yerevan
As described in one of the interviews in the Interviews & Perspectives section, UNDP has worked with the City of Yerevan to establish digital services that are aligned to the city’s smart urban agenda.
The team conducted a digital readiness assessment, using a methodology provided by the global UNDP digital office. They have also leveraged UNDP Armenia’s SDG Innovation Lab to support city digitalisation initiatives that place equal importance on using a process to select what should be digitalised as well as the implementation of the agreed digitalisation projects. They have not picked services at random. By late 2022, businesses across the city were interacting with the authorities through digital processes.
A new smart city near Bangkok
The government of Thailand announced in July 2022 that it is planning to build a US$37bn smart city in an industrial hub near Bangkok, in a zone that has already attracted investment pledges from global automotive, robotics, healthcare and logistics companies. A master plan to build the city in the Huai Yai subdistrict of Chonburi province, approx. 160km southeast of Bangkok, was approved by a panel chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on 11 July 2022. The city is planned to be spread over 2,340 ha of land and will cost 1.34 trillion baht, or US$37 billion, over a 10-year period.
New York City fibre for all
NYC Mesh is an example of a diverse group of volunteers who are committed to ending the “digital divide” between society’s well off and poor, and to extend high-speed, reliable internet access to all New Yorkers (other similar ventures exist in the city). They provide volunteering opportunities to connect neighbours and grow the network to ensure “access for all”. While a fibre connection remains the best option, “fixed wireless” options like the rooftop routers used by NYC Mesh can deliver a signal that can handle most residential uses and is usually faster and cheaper to deploy. NYC Mesh has a subsidised option for installations, for example.
Marburg and inclusive design
Marburg has applied human-oriented smart thinking to enhance the experiences of differently abled people in the city. The city prides itself on being a Blindenstadt – a city that caters for the blind and partially sighted as well as for people with normal sight. With a history of this focus that goes back to an innovative school (the Blindenstudienanstalt, or Blista in German) that was founded during World War One, the city has developed many inventions for blind people over the decades, in a way that are seamlessly stitched into the fabric of the urban environment. Some of the innovations that Marburg has exist elsewhere – it’s the way they are joined up in this city that makes it a special learning case.
Dhaka and reducing the impact of disaster events
Various measures continue to be undertaken in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, to reduce the impact of events such as flooding and earthquakes - and to avoid a disaster if it is possible. The city has many vulnerabilities in its urban system. Through the application of technology such as understanding potential flooding scenarios based on modelling and discussions across a range of stakeholder groups, development can be better informed. When major events occur such as a tropical cyclone, citizens can be warned as early as possible and given access to track data themselves about storm movements through their mobile phones, with advice and support made available.
Smart waste management in Songdo
A sophisticated waste management system was designed “from scratch” for the purpose-built smart city of Songdo in South Korea. This high-tech city has set itself ambitious waste management targets, using a system with an infrastructure of IoT and sensors and automated waste disposal bins (negating the need for waste collection trucks) that are connected via underground pipes to a waste-processing centre. These pneumatic pipes draw waste directly from premises into the underground network for waste to be automatically sorted and recycled, buried, or burned for energy at the “Third Zone Automated Waste Collection Plant”. No system is perfect, and a key principle for all waste management is to first apply the principle of reducing consumption and eliminating waste from being generated to begin with, however this is an example of applying waste management design to a dense urban environment “from scratch”.
