What is a Smart City? – Definition and Examples

There are several definitions of what makes a city ‘smart. ‘For example, IBM defines a smart city as “one that makes optimal use of all the interconnected information available today to better understand and control its operations and optimize the use of limited resources.”

H “However, in short, a smart city uses a framework of information and communication technologies to create, deploy, and promote development practices to address urban challenges and create a joined-up, technologically enabled, and sustainable infrastructure.

Smart City Technologies

Smart cities use various software, user interfaces, and communication networks alongside the Internet of Things (IoT) to deliver connected solutions for the public. Of these, the IoT is the most important. The IoT is a network of connected devices that communicate and exchange data. This can include anything from vehicles to home appliances and on-street sensors. Data collected from these devices is stored in the cloud or on servers to allow for improvements to both public and private sector efficiencies and deliver economic benefits and improvements to the lives of citizens.

Many IoT devices use edge computing, which ensures that only the most relevant and essential data is delivered over the communication network. In addition, a security system is implemented to protect, monitor, and control data transmission from the intelligent city network and prevent unauthorized access to the IoT network of the citcity’sta platform.

Alongside the IoT solutions, smart cities also use technologies including:

• Application Programming Interfaces (APIs)
• Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• Cloud Computing Services
• Dashboards
• Machine Learning
• Machine-to-Machine Communications
• Mesh Networks

Smart City Features

Combining automation, machine learning, and IoT allows for the adoption of innovative city technologies in various applications. For example, smart parking can help drivers find a parking space and also allow for digital payment.

Another example is intelligent traffic management, which monitors traffic flows and optimizes traffic lights to reduce congestion. At the same time, a smart city infrastructure can also manage ride-sharing services.

Innovative city features can also include energy conservation and environmental efficiencies, such as dim streetlights when the roads are empty. Such intelligent grid technologies can improve everything from operations to maintenance, planning, and power supplies.

Innovative city initiatives can also combat climate change and air pollution, as well as waste management and sanitation, via internet-enabled rubbish collection, bins, and fleet management systems.

In addition to services, intelligent cities provide safety measures, such as monitoring areas of high crime or using sensors to enable early warnings for incidents like floods, landslides, hurricanes, or droughts.

Intelligent buildings can also offer real-time space management or structural health monitoring and feedback to determine when repairs are necessary. Citizens can also access this system to notify officials of any problems, such as potholes, while sensors can also monitor infrastructure problems, such as leaks in water pipes.

In addition, smart city technology can improve manufacturing efficiency, urban farming, energy use, and more.

Smart cities can connect all services to provide joined-up solutions for citizens.

History of Smart Cities

The concept of smart cities began in the 1960s and 1970s, when the US Community Analysis Bureau began using databases, aerial photography, and cluster analysis to collect data, direct resources, and issue reports to direct services, mitigate against disasters, and reduce poverty. This led to the creation of the first generation of smart cities.

Technology providers delivered the first generation of smart cities to understand the implications of technology on daily life. This led to the second generation of smart cities, which looked at how innovative technologies and innovations could create joined-up municipal solutions. The third generation of intelligent cities took the control away from technology providers and city leaders, instead creating a model that involved the public and enabled social inclusion and community engagement.

Vienna adopted this third-generation model, partnering with the local Wien Energy company. This allowed citizens to invest in local solar plants and work with the public to resolve gender equality and affordable housing issues. Such adoption has continued worldwide, including in Vancouver, where 30,000 citizens co-created the Vancouver Greenest City 2020 Action Plan.

How Smart Cities Work

Smart cities follow four steps to improve the quality of life and enable economic growth through a network of connected IoT devices and other technologies. These steps are as follows:

1. Collection – Smart sensors gather real-time data

2. Analysis – The data is analyzed to gain insights into the operation of city services and operations

3. Communication – The results of the data analysis are communicated to decision-makers

4. Action – Action is taken to improve operations, manage assets, and improve the quality of city life for the residents

The ICT framework combines real-time data from connected assets, objects, and machines to improve decision-making. However, citizens can interact with intelligent city ecosystems through mobile devices and connected vehicles and buildings. By pairing devices with data and the city’s infrastructure, it is possible to cut costs, improve sustainability, streamline factors such as energy distribution and refuse collection, reduce traffic congestion, and improve air quality.

Why Smart Cities Are Important

54% of the world’s population lives in cities, and this is expected to rise to 66% by 2050, adding a further 2.5 billion people to the urban population over the next three decades. With this expected population growth comes a need to manage resources’ environmental, social, and economic sustainability. 

Intelligent cities allow citizens and local government authorities to collaborate to launch initiatives and use innovative technologies to manage assets and resources in the growing urban environment.

Why do we need them?

A smart city should provide an urban environment that offers residents a high quality of life while also generating economic growth. This means delivering a suite of joined-up services to citizens with reduced infrastructure costs.

This becomes increasingly important in light of the future population growth in urban areas, where more efficient use of infrastructure and assets will be required. Innovative city services and applications will allow for these improvements, leading to a higher quality of life for citizens.

Innovative city improvements also create new value from existing infrastructure while creating new revenue streams and operational efficiencies, which can help governments and citizens save money.

Are Smart Cities Sustainable?

Sustainability is essential to intelligent cities as they seek to improve urban efficiency and citizen welfare. Cities offer many environmental advantages, such as smaller geographical footprints, but they also have some negative impacts, including using fossil fuels to power them. However, innovative technologies could help alleviate these adverse effects, such as implementing an electric transport system to reduce emissions.

Electric vehicles could also help to regulate the frequency of the electric grid while not in use.  Such sustainable transport options should also see a reduction in the number of cars in urban areas as autonomous vehicles are expected to reduce the need for car ownership amongst the population.

Creating such sustainable solutions could deliver environmental and societal benefits.

Smart City Challenges

For all of the benefits offered by smart cities, there are challenges to overcome. These include government officials allowing widespread participation from citizens. The private and public sectors also need to align with residents so that everyone can positively contribute to the community.

Innovative city projects must be transparent and available to citizens via an open data portal or mobile app. This would allow residents to engage with the data and complete personal tasks like paying bills, finding efficient transportation options, and assessing energy consumption in the home.

This all requires a solid and secure data collection and storage system to prevent hacking or misuse. Smart city data must also be anonymized to avoid privacy issues from arising.

The most significant challenge is connectivity, with thousands or millions of IoT devices needing to connect and work in unison. This will allow services to be joined up and ongoing improvements to be made as demand increases. 

Technology aside, intelligent cities must also account for social factors that provide a cultural fabric attractive to residents and offer a sense of place.  This is particularly important for cities being created from the ground up and need to attract residents.

Are they Secure?

Smart cities offer many benefits to improve citizen safety, such as connected surveillance systems, intelligent roadways, and public safety monitoring, but what about protecting the smart cities?

We need to ensure that smart cities are protected from cyber attacks, hacking, and data theft while ensuring that the data reported is accurate.

Measures such as physical data vaults, resilient authentication management, and ID solutions need to be implemented to manage the security of smart cities. Citizens need to trust the security of smart cities, which means government, private sector enterprises, software developers, device manufacturers, energy providers, and network service managers need to work together to deliver integrated solutions with core security objectives. These core security objectives can be broken down as follows:

1. Availability – Data needs to be available in real-time with reliable access to make sure it performs its function in monitoring the various parts of the smart city infrastructure
2. Integrity – The data must not only be readily available, but it must also be accurate. This also means safeguarding against manipulation from the outside.
3. Confidentiality—Sensitive data must be kept confidential and safe from unauthorized access. This may mean using firewalls or anonymizing data.
4. Accountability – System users must be accountable for their actions and interactions with sensitive data systems. User logs should record who is accessing the information to ensure accountability should there be any problems.

Legislation is already being implemented in different nations, such as the IoT Cybersecurity Improvement Act in the United States, to help determine and establish minimum security requirements for connected devices in smart cities.

Examples

Cities worldwide are in different stages of innovative technology development and implementation. However, several are ahead of the curve, leading the path to creating brilliant towns. These include:

• Barcelona, Spain
• Columbus, Ohio, USA
• Dubai, United Arab Emirates
• Hong Kong, China
• Kansas City, Missouri, USA
• London, England
• Melbourne, Australia
• New York City, New York, USA
• Reykjavik, Iceland
• San Diego, California, USA
• Singapore
• Tokyo, Japan
• Toronto, Canada
• Vienna, Austria

The city-state of Singapore is considered to be one of the front-runners in the race to create fully smart cities. IoT cameras monitor the cleanliness of public spaces, crowd density, and the movement of registered vehicles. Singapore also has systems to monitor energy use, waste management, and water use in real time. In addition, autonomous vehicle testing and a monitoring system are used to ensure the health and well-being of senior citizens. 

Elsewhere, Kansas City has introduced smart streetlights, interactive kiosks, and over 50 blocks of free Wi-Fi. Residents can access parking space details, traffic flow measurements, and pedestrian hotspots via the citcity’sta visualization app.

Meanwhile, San Diego has installed 3,200 intelligent sensors to optimize traffic flow and parking and enhance public safety and environmental awareness. Solar-to-electric charging stations support electric vehicles, and connected cameras monitor traffic problems and crime.

Traffic monitoring systems are also in place in Dubai, with telemedicine, intelligent healthcare solutions, smart buildings, utilities, education, and tourism options. Barcelona also has intelligent transportation systems with bus stops offering free Wi-Fi and USB charging ports, a bike-sharing program, a smart parking app, and online payment options. Temperature, pollution, and noise are also measured using sensors that cover humidity and rainfall.

Conclusion

Creating smart, connected systems for our urban areas provides many benefits for citizens around the world. It improves quality of life and ensures sustainability and the best possible use of resources.

These solutions depend on a unified approach from the government, the private sector, and residents. With the correct support and infrastructure, however, smart cities can use advances such as the Internet of Things to enhance residents’ lives and create joined-up living solutions for the growing global urban citizenry.

TWI has expertise in many technologies underpinning a new bright future, including sensors, electrification, and power generation solutions.