Smart cities: Beyond the buzzwords
Posted on
The way we design and build cities is set for the biggest shakeup since the Romans laid out the first street grid.
And it’s being driven by technology.
Google’s smart cities start-up, Sidewalk Labs, is working with the City of Toronto on a 500-hectare high-tech test bed on the waterfront.
Facebook is laying out plans for 1,500 homes in a mixed-use village in Silicon Valley, using state-of-the-art modular construction methods and smart technology.
And Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has just invested $105 million in 25,000 acres of Arizona plains which he plans to transform into a smart city for 182,000 people, replete with driverless cars, high-tech buildings and high-speed internet.
These are just three examples that illustrate how fast our cities are evolving as city-builders look to technology to improve the way people live, work and play.
Most of us have read about autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, drones and the Internet of Things. But strip back the buzzwords, and the ‘smart city’ concept is actually quite simple. It’s about applying technology, data and intelligent design to build smarter, better cities.
Adam Beck is the executive director of the Smart Cities Council Australia New Zealand. He says smart lighting, parking and waste are usually the first three “on ramps” for any city, and points to the $28.5 million in funding for 52 smart cities projects announced by the Australian Government in early November.
“If you look at these 52 projects, a repetitive theme emerges around public WiFi, smart parking and smart waste. These are ‘base package’ initiatives that a city will buy when dipping its toes in the water,” Adam says.
But once we jump in feet first, the smart city possibilities are truly mind-blowing.
Adam just returned from a trip to Barcelona to take part in the Smart City World Expo. And he says the ideas on offer are truly transformative.
He points to a new smartphone app that does away with the need to even “tap and go” on public transport.
“Once you’ve installed the app on your phone, you just walk on and off the bus or train – and the system detects you through the phone in your pocket.”
This smart technology renders systems like Sydney’s Opal card obsolete, and illustrates the enormous challenge that faces planners and policy-makers. Cities can spend a decade and billions of dollars on one system, only to have it superseded in the blink of an eye.
But technology isn’t the end game – it’s just the enabler, Adam says.
Take the state of Washington, which has installed sensors on all rubbish bins in public spaces.
“The sensors analyse how long there is movement within each bin, and that allows the authorities to understand the hotspots for homeless people foraging for food – and to deploy targeted support programs to help those people.”
It’s the exact opposite of “hostile architecture” – think metal spikes and uncomfortable benches – that have been installed in other cities around the world.
Similarly, the City of Perth is soon to install CCTV cameras and analytics to sense people laying on the ground and determine whether that person is homeless.
“These projects excite me, because they demonstrate how the Internet of Things can be used to add social value,” Adam says.
Adam also points to a “next generation bench” developed by a Croatian company that evolve from prototypes in the United States with solar panels for smartphone charging, WiFi hotspots and IoT sensors which analyse who uses the park, at what time and for how long.
“In this next generation bench, digital advertising on both sides generates revenue for the local council, while cameras detect homelessness and other activities like vandalism,” he says.
At the city scale, Adam says those with the most runs on the board have embraced the idea of the “city as a lab”.
Washington DC, for example, developed an innovative governance structure which has supported an “amazing living laboratory”, including “someone whose day job is to experiment with technology and engage with the community”.
Some of the earliest smart cities initiatives have been the most successful. Adam points to Barcelona’s WiFi Barcelona – the largest network of free internet in Europe – which was first installed in 2011 and currently features nearly 2,000 hotspots everywhere from city parks and museums to buses and metro stations.
And which Australian city leads the pack?
“I’m a big fan of Adelaide’s smart cities agenda,” Adam says. “What started with several small pilot projects – smart lighting, cameras, public WiFi – has evolved into a huge project, Ten Gigabit Adelaide.”
This non-internet, fibre-optic network will “interconnect” to cloud-based data centres across the globe.
“Not only will this give Adelaide uninterrupted fast connectivity, it will evolve business models and procurement,” Adam explains.
“This project essentially creates an app store for the city. We are talking mass job creation and the ability to drive into artificial intelligence, robotics, 3D printing, e-health – you name it. It will allow Adelaide to do business and attract investment like no other.”
Adam’s enthusiasm for smart cities is infectious – and there are many opportunities for us here in Canberra. But he offers a word of warning for city builders everywhere.
“Don’t get caught up in the hype. Instead, take a deep breath and calm down. Each city has to work out where it wants to go – and then go shopping for technology and data solutions to support that. And that’s the key – strategy first, then the technology.”
Adam Beck is joining the City Renewal Authority’s new chief Malcolm Snow, and smart city experts Brook Dixon, Jessica Stewart and Joana Valente at NAWIC’s Smart Cities Industry Breakfast on Wednesday 29 November at the National Museum of Australia. Book online.
Feature image: supplied. Slider image: Martin Ollman
Leave a Reply