An assessment of the UK's progress in developing smart cities.
Digital transformation has jumped forward five to seven years with the events of the last 12 months. While 2020 was a difficult year for many reasons, it has provided some signs of encouragement when it comes to the development of smart cities. The Government’s plans to equip 20 percent of the UK with gigabit connectivity by 2025 may seem a tad ambitious, but that’s not to say the UK is standing still. Businesses up and down the UK have had to think in a digital-first way in order to function effectively through the pandemic. The steps taken to enable remote working and to futureproof operations will serve the public sector well as third parties look to provide the supporting network architecture for smart cities.
Civica highlights why it’s time to change your perspective on the Internet of Things in new report Joseph Martins Thu 15 Sep 2022 // 09:44 UTC
One of the problems with ubiquitous technologies is that we sometimes lose sight of how much they've changed our lives already and how much more change they can still deliver.
Technologists have been building devices to generate and transmit streams of information for decades, but the term "internet of things", or IoT, wasn't coined until 1999 by RFID pioneer Kevin Ashton at MIT. He argued that sensors and other devices would eventually replace humans as the main originators of the data flowing into the internet.
Read more: GB: IoT is not just for business – how do we make it work for the public sector?
How do we strike a balance between collecting comprehensive data about citizens to maximise the benefits of smart cities, while protecting privacy rights?
The collection and analysis of data in smart cities holds lots of promise. According to the UK government, it can “raise productivity, create jobs, improve safety, provide environmental benefits, and make public services more efficient and accessible”.
It can also, the government says, do that cheaply. The £24m Future City Glasgow project is said to have had an initial return on investment of £144m.
Read more: GB: Will smart cities tilt the balance between data capture and personal privacy?
Despite financial cuts and labour shortages, local councils need effective digital transformation to accommodate new policies and processes
Legacy technology is just one of the challenges hindering digital transformation within local councils and government. While a lack of funding also significantly impacts the ability to attract skilled professionals, resulting in a major skills gap across the sector. Despite the necessity of local government services, it has experienced huge cuts to its central government grant over the past ten years. Whilst a £2.4 billion increase in inflationary costs threatens many English councils to declare bankruptcy, writes Mark Gannon, Director of Client Solutions at Netcall.
Read more: GB: Digital transformation: Reshaping local councils
Long-promised ‘smart’ bus shelters have been delayed because of supply issues caused by the war in Ukraine, according to the latest excuse offered by Town Hall officials.
Long-suffering bus passengers travelling around Croydon are facing a second winter in the rain, sleet and snow without even the modest comfort afforded by a shelter at many of the stops in the borough.