Smart cities have the potential to shape our urban environments into resilient, sustainable and inclusive spaces.
People talk a lot about smart city ‘ecosystems’ – it’s a word borrowed from the biological sciences with good reason – at their most abstract, smart cities are a collection of interdependent elements that evolve alongside each other. And just as nutrients and energy flows through a natural ecosystem, data and decisions are the lifeblood of a smart city.
This dynamic system has the potential to respond far more quickly and effectively to new challenges than a ‘traditional’ city. The best intentions for the future of citizens and businesses can be seen reflected in smart city (and smart operations) projects.
The definition of a smart city project varies pretty widely. You can dive deeper into some of those definitions in the Smart Cities and Inclusive Growth paper from the OECD.
We can think about these projects in terms of the people, organizations, places, and technologies engaged as part of a smart cities project and the interactions between them.
What does the ecosystem of a smart cities project look like?
Sensors in the real world that collect data and send it somewhere to get used, and the systems (both humans and technologies) that keep them operational and relevant as sensor technologies evolve. These can range from video cameras with substantial analytics built in, to light/pollution/pollen/weight/motion/etc. detectors.
A backend infrastructure that collates that data into a digital twin, which represents some element of the real world across time, enabling insights via time-series analysis. Ideally access to this data is provided in an open and equitable way, so that projects can build upon each other.
A set of stakeholders with analysts who use the data to develop models (through artificial intelligence, machine learning, or good old fashioned analytics) for delivering insights to downstream systems based on real-time information.
A set of application developers who build user experiences or device control logic from the analysts’ models, managing the entire infrastructure and DevOps lifecycle of these applications.
The set of users or devices that gain insight or direction from the applications that use the real-time models. These users and devices then use this information to change the physical world they operate within.
Smart cities could become a powerful tool for maximising the sustainability of urban environments... I hope to see more interesting reports and ideas in this space over the next few years!
Note: I originally collaborated with my colleague Craig to write this piece, but it is no longer online at the original location, so re-posting it here.
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