The future of cities is here. Moving past just connected services and connected data, the smart cities of the future engage citizens, governments, companies, and visitors in an integrated, intelligent ecosystem. The new smart city technologies are about moving beyond networks to embrace and connect people. More than just a network, it’s about a culture – one that is inclusive and interactive, one that works together and gets better as it connects. It’s time for big ideas.
One recent example is LinkedIn. It is a social networking site where business professionals hang out, discuss current happenings, find jobs and connections, exchange knowledge, and collaborate on projects. At its core, though, it’s all about connecting the company and the community. LinkedIn has become a tremendous success because it created a sort of smart city ecosystem, a community of experts who gathered together in the same space, using the same tools, communicating with one another. Within this smart city, people learned about new products, shared tips and tricks, and formed ventures based on their own experiences. The real power of the idea came from the fact that this group had been engaging, collaborating, and sharing without being necessarily connected or even visible to one another – an approach that made collaboration more powerful and efficient.
Another example is the smart cities’ initiative launched by the City of Toronto. The project called the Toronto Connected Policing Strategy seeks to create a “wick” in the city’s downtown core through a series of public spaces, bike paths, parks, and waterways. By encouraging people to use these spaces not only for walking or for transportation, but also for gathering and enjoying the nature around them, the plan hopes to create what Toronto planner Jennifer Karras calls a “smart city.” The thinking goes that if people are able to access various aspects of the city, they will be able to enjoy the natural beauty within the spaces that they’re in.
In terms of implementing smart cities in the US, a group of environmental organizations, led by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), have been trying for some time to incorporate a smart city concept. The concept is called the Clean Air Act. Part of this strategy is the creation of an air quality management plan, or AQAP. The idea behind the plan is that cities must monitor the quality of their air in order to meet the EPA regulations regarding air quality and act quickly if they find their air quality is deteriorating.
There is also a notion of smart cities and sustainable cities. As the name suggests, sustainable cities promote energy efficiency and conservation. Some smart cities try to work with energy efficiency as a part of its overall strategy. This might be through something as simple as purchasing energy-efficient appliances, for example.
On the other hand, there is also the smart city concept promoted by economists and others who are concerned about sustainability. They believe that if a city promotes sustainable development, it will attract a large number of businesses and residents who are interested in preserving nature and are willing to make their communities more sustainable. These are essentially business and residents who can help offset the effect of global warming. It’s a broad coalition, which includes many environmental groups.
With regards to the smart cities and smart water management issues, many US cities have adopted a system by which they encourage drivers to pay for their parking meters in advance. When a driver parks at a meter, the city will credit that driver with the amount of money he or she has paid toward their parking meter. In turn, when the meter is full, drivers pay a fee to use the meter again, thereby maintaining the balance of the parking meter and reducing the amount of money collected by the city.
These smart city projects are important, but they are not all going to succeed. One thing is certain: any smart city project is going to require a commitment of time, money and effort. It is likely that many cities will be hesitant to commit to these kinds of initiatives for fear that they may not achieve their goals or that they will take too long to see results. However, if smart city projects like these can be implemented correctly, it will have lasting effects on the ecosystem, on the city as a whole, and on the people who live in it. A smart-city approach to ecosystem management is just one of the many strategies being employed today to ensure that our ecosystems are sustainable and healthy.