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smart city

The definition of Smart City

 

A smart city is an urban development vision to integrate multiple information and communication technology (ICT) solutions in a secure fashion to manage a city’s assets

The goal of building a smart city is to improve quality of life by using technology to improve the efficiency of services and meet residents’ needs.

Through the use of sensors integrated with real-time monitoring systems, data are collected from citizens and devices - then processed and analyzed. The information and knowledge gathered are keys to tackling inefficiency.

Characteristics

smart city uses information technologies to:

1-Make more efficient use of physical infrastructure

2-Engage effectively with local people in local governance and decision by use of open innovation processes

Examples of Instrumentation intelligence have been implemented in Amsterdam.This is implemented through:

  1. A common IP infrastructure that is open to researchers to develop applications.

  2. Wireless meters and devices transmit information at the point in time.

  3. A number of homes being provided with smart energy meters to become aware of energy consumption and reduce energy usage

  4. Solar power garbage compactors, car recharging stations and energy saving lamps.

The criticisms of smart cities revolve around:

  • A bias in strategic interest may lead to ignoring alternative avenues of promising urban development.

  • The focus of the concept of smart city may lead to an underestimation of the possible negative effects of the development of the new technological and networked infrastructures needed for a city to be smart.

  • As a globalized business model is based on capital mobility, following a business-oriented model may result in a losing long term strategy: "The 'spatial fix' inevitably means that mobile capital can often 'write its own deals' to come to town, only to move on when it receives a better deal elsewhere. This is no less true for the smart city than it was for the industrial, [or] manufacturing city.

The high level of big data collection and analytics has raised questions regarding surveillance in smart cities, particularly as it relates to predictive policing.

Amsterdam

The Amsterdam Smart City includes 79 projects collaboratively developed by local residents, government and businesses. These projects run on an interconnected platform through wireless devices to enhance the city’s real time decision making abilities. The City of Amsterdam (City) claims the purpose of the projects is to reduce traffic, save energy and improve public safety.An example of a resident developed app is Mobypark, which allows owners of parking spaces to rent them out to people for a fee.

 

Barcelona

Barcelona has established a number of projects For example, sensor technology has been implemented in the irrigation system in Parc del Centre de Poblenou, where real time data is transmitted to gardening crews about the level of water required for the plants. Barcelona has also designed a new bus network based on data analysis of the most common traffic flows in Barcelona, utilising primarily vertical, horizontal and diagonal routes with a number of interchanges.

Santa Cruz

An alternative use of smart city technology can be found in Santa Cruz, California, where local authorities analyse historical crime data in order to predict police requirements and maximise police presence where it is required. The analytical tools generate a list of 10 places each day where property crimes are more likely to occur, and then placing police efforts on these regions when officers are not responding to any emergency. This use of ICT technology is different to the manner in which European cities utilise smart city technology, possibly highlighting the breadth of the smart city concept in different parts of the world.

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