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Lucubrate Magazine, January 12th, 2023
Smart cities have become an influential concept in urban development. Smart cities and their applications aim to maintain a high quality of life by using smart technologies and enhancing economic productivity.
When we think of cities, we tend to think of busy streets, tall buildings and a lot of noise. However, many cities are now trying to become smart cities. Smart cities are designed to make life easier for citizens using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and education. They are also designed to ensure everyone follows the rules and lives peacefully. A smart city can bring significant benefits to its people if conducted properly.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution and the town
Entering the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution driven by the convergence of digital, biological and physical innovations, the 21st century has demonstrated a change in the paradigm of urban planning and development with the rapid progress in Information and Communication Technology development which has been changing people’s lives in business, economy, culture, art, and society. However, rapid urbanization has presented many human development challenges. First, the efficiency of current cities has been declining owing to the insufficient provision of public services, which has resulted in the deterioration of the quality of lives of the citizens. Second, the existing urban infrastructure has been saturated due to the urban concentration of the population, which has led to a surge in demand for the development of new cities. Furthermore, urbanization has caused many social and economic problems, such as energy overconsumption, environmental pollution, traffic congestion and crimes [1].
They also need reliable internet connections so citizens can access information easily. With good ICT, residents will be informed enough to use the city efficiently. In addition, the government can send out messages regarding schedules, policies and other information relevant to residents.
Smart Kristiansand, Norway
Kristiansand is the fifth largest city in Norway, with almost 110.400 inhabitants and is rapidly growing. The town is located in the south of Norway. Kristiansand Smart City takes the needs of the citizens as the starting point. It uses new technology to create a better city for everyone. Kristiansand Smart City’s main targets are sustainability and adaptability [2].
The City of Kristiansand aims to be a motive force towards a more sustainable region when facing crises and unexpected incidents. The climate changes threaten Kristiansand because of the exposed location close to the sea, where the sea level potentially will rise. It is a goal that society must be resistant and adaptable in facing future crises and catastrophes. For this reason, another important target is to attract attention to the risks and sensitivity of climate change. Also, the project has developed an online toolset that gives the cities and the local authorities a handbook that will help them estimate their competence and resilience and strengthen their capacity and knowledge[2].
The goal of a smart city
A Smart City uses information and communication technology (ICT) to improve operational efficiency, share information with the public and provide a better quality of government service and citizen welfare.
The main goal of a smart city is to optimize city functions and promote economic growth while also improving the quality of life for citizens by using smart technologies and data analysis. The value lies in how this technology is used rather than how much technology is available.
Smart Tampere, Finland
The city of Tampere (232.932 inhabitants) in Finland aims for innovative and sustainable smart city solutions through cooperation between companies, organizations, municipalities and citizens. The aim is to create better services for the citizens and serve as a partner, a platform and a reference for the companies on their way to the international markets.
The strategic economic programme Smart Tampere faces this from two angles. From the inside, it is taking the city’s own services to the digital age through agile testing. On the outside, it helps businesses create new business models and smart city solutions through ecosystem building, agile piloting and platform creation [3].
The ecosystem building focuses on smart city themes known to be strong in Tampere. For each focus area, the city has named a Theme Manager from the City and an Advisory Board consisting of business and education institution representatives with expert knowledge of the focus areas. The Advisory Board steers the actions of the town. It brings the vision of how public entities should support focus area ecosystems. The aim is to create the best solutions most sustainably and smartly. The concrete way the city helps new business models and innovation are through the different test sites and platforms the Smart Tampere programme has created [3].
Building knowledge for the Smart Cities
In the modern world of urbanization, the needs of any Smart City are to manage the various important wheels of the city like water and electricity, urban transportation and traffic system, pragmatic approach to managing solid waste, centralized management of information, better disaster management of the town, control over crime, an active emergency response system, renovating the heritage monuments and making the city beautiful, etc., for the people living in the city. The city authorities are engaged in making their city smart using implementing different solutions vide different schemes of the Central or State Government or combined effort; integrating solutions and generating huge amounts of data can be utilized to discover the gap and improve operations and services for citizens of the city [4].
In an analysis that describes the management of public policies in the area of education in a Smart City, they identified the characteristics of a sustainable city. The study used descriptive, exploratory, qualitative research, with semi-structured interviews with municipal managers linked to the education area. The data was computed, analyzed and interpreted through content analysis. The results show the notion and recognition of education and the sustainable city, with the importance of citizen participation and education as a training agent for the effectiveness of sustainable city development [5].
Smart Incheon Metropolitan, Korea
Incheon Metropolitan City in Korea has a population of about 3 million people. The ICT environment of the city is well-developed. More specifically, the Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ) is the earliest Smart City called a ‘ubiquitous city’. It is now one of the most advanced smart cities in the world. Moreover, the Korean central government focuses on the smart city development strategy as one of the growth engines of the future economy [1].
Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ) was designed in Incheon Metropolitan City as a smart city concept from the early stages of development and construction of urban infrastructure. At the heart of the city is the integrated operation centre, which controls the whole IFEZ. The Smart City Integrated Platform serves as the brain that operates the centre.
Composed of the software (SW) platform called Smart City Platform and the hardware (HW) platform, which is a Cloud Data Centre, the Smart City Integrated Platform works to collect, store, process, and provide information in real-time from the target city areas through various smart city devices and facilities. In other words, the Smart City Integrated Platform serves as the brain and neutral core of the city. It provides real-time decision-support information to operate and manage the entire city safely. It also offers an intelligent integrated control solution which ensures effective information collection, storage, processing, distribution and analysis [1].
Education is needed to manage to live in a Smart City
A smart city is a modern metropolis that makes life easier through Information and Communication Technology and strict regulations. With proper ICT systems, education or enforcement, residents will find it easier to succeed in such an environment.
A smart city relies on intelligent citizens who understand how to make the most of their opportunities. Education is essential since people learn best through examples and instruction. Through education, people can learn new skills and work towards common goals such as economic growth or environmental preservation. Furthermore, schools must teach relevant subjects such as math or computer science. Students can get jobs in the Smart City after they finish school. This way, everyone gets what they need to succeed in their city!
References
[1] Jong-Tae Kim, Case Study ICT Good Practices of a Smart City: Incheon Metropolitan City, Asian and Pacific Training Centre for Information and Communication Technology for Development, Republic of Korea, 2020 [2] https://nscn.eu/Kristiansand [3] https://nscn.eu/Tampere [4] Rajput, S.K., Choudhury, T., Sharma, H.K., Mahdi, H.F. (2023). Smart City Driven by AI and Data Mining: The Need of Urbanization. In: Dutta, P., Chakrabarti, S., Bhattacharya, A., Dutta, S., Shahnaz, C. (eds) Emerging Technologies in Data Mining and Information Security. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 490. Springer, Singapore. [5] Neckel, A., Macke, J., & Moro, LD (2022). ROLE OF LOCAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS FOR A SUSTAINABLE CITY IN SOUTHERN BRAZIL. Sustainable IX, 9 (1), 38–49.Lucubrate Magazine January 2023
The illustration on the top of the article: Adobe Stock
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