Ruthbea Yesner Clarke, research director at market research and advisory firm IDC Government Insights, explained in an interview with Government Technology that smart cities adopt a broader view of sustainability. Beyond its typical environmental implications, sustainability also applies to things like infrastructure development and economic development.
Ask around — every city wants to be all these things, but what exactly do they mean? And how are they feasible in today’s world of budget cuts and doing more with less?
According to its report, ‘Is Your City Smart Enough?’ technology was an important enabler of a more sustainable approach to designing, building, and operating cities.
New greenfield cities and major urban renewal projects provide the focus and investment needed to reengineer the way a city and its society works.
The United Nations is predicting that the world's cities will need to house an additional 2.9 billion people by the middle of what is being called "the urban century". Hundreds of cities will be built and expanded to accommodate migration and growth - particularly in China and India.
"This is leading to a rise in competition among cities to attract and retain the investment and people needed for urban development and revitalisation," said Dr Steve Hodgkinson, an Ovum research director and author of the report "Is Your City Smart Enough?"
The world’s two greatest populations, China and India, will be the major contributors of an additional 2.9 billion people by 2050, according to The United Nations. With existing cosmopolitan cities getting increasingly populated, it is simply not feasible to just keep packing in the people without implementing some major changes.
Ovum, an analyst and consulting company, recently published a report titled ‘Is your city smart enough?’, and recommended that information technology be embedded as a crucial part of designing, building and operating cities more efficiently. Ovum also predicts that hundred of new cities will be built and expanded to accommodate this influx of population. The report suggested two strategies on how technology can improve city living – first with a Digital-City strategy, and next with Digital-Society initiatives.
Weiterlesen: How will the world's cities hold another 2.9billion people?