Fueling the future: with a high quality of life, smart cities will be sustainable, safe, economically dynamic and much more efficient, thanks to advanced digital technologies.
Think about many of the greatest cities of antiquity, centers such as Babylon, Constantinople or Carthage. Now, juxtapose them with today’s significant metropolises, centers like New York, Tokyo or New Delhi. What do they all have in common? A single element that dictates the success of virtually every city, even in the modern age — geography of course! There can be little doubt that when it comes to the success of cities, location is king.
Read more: How Today’s GIS Technology Enables the Energy Efficient Smart Cities of Tomorrow
Despite years of considerable economic growth, India continues to suffer from massive corruption. Furthermore, while the country has a plethora of social and infrastructure projects to help redistribute some of this wealth to the sizable impoverished population, funds and materials meant for these programs often tend to dissipate as they move across the country’s vast geography. ‘Favors’ and ‘fees’ inappropriately levied by individuals wielding power keep what is already a limited supply of resources from reaching the populations it is meant for. At the ESRI user conference last month, Sam Pitroda, an advisor to the Indian Prime Minister, described the government’s effort to eliminate the country’s widespread corruption with a data-driven approach: an integrated GIS system. Mr. Pitroda believes that GIS databases combined with a national identification number given to every citizen and bound to every relevant record pertaining to them can fix this system that has so long resisted remediation. Only time will tell, but the transparency of geospatially tracking populations and funds holds definite promise of solving this seemingly intractable problem.
Whether or not you use the word Cloud, for the purposes of this column I am writing it with respect to the delivery of all functions of a GIS from distant computing centers. Imagine GIS in the Cloud. The entire, complete functionality and delivery of published geospatial and GIS work flows, and results, through the use of computers operating at distant locations. Data creation, data management, spatial analysis and visual representation - all Cloud propagated.
Local government has the unique role and responsibility to develop, control and regulate the geographic, social, and economic environment of a defined local area. In democratic societies, local government also informs and involves citizens in policy and operational areas. When these functions are carried out well, the overall quality of life for citizens and ratepayers is enhanced.
“Städte in 3D” startet in Europa gleichzeitig in sechs Ländern: in Deutschland, Frankreich, Großbritannien, Italien, den Niederlanden und Spanien.Viele Kommunalverwaltungen haben bereits die raumbezogenen Daten für Visualisierungen gesammelt - oder sogar schon konkret in die Entwicklung von 3D-Modellen investiert.