What are the Considerations for Building a Smart City?

Posted by Bhushan Aher on August 30th, 2018

Smart City concept is gaining popularity everywhere. In India, ‘100 Smart Cities’ mission is spreading its wings all-over. This popularity is because of the three major benefits which this ‘smartness’ provides. The three main focus points are- increasing the quality of life, creating urban and modern development, and reversing climate-change-damages by the use of green infrastructure. Everything related to the city needs to be SMART. Right from Economy to the Living standard.

As per the Gartner’s prediction, there were about 1.6 billion connected things used in smart cities.

Smart cities involve the use of major disruptive technologies like AI, IoT, etc. Even though there are several opportunities and facilities that these technologies bring, there are also several challenges in the implementation. As high quality of living is the desire of everyone, but it also calls for high-end problem-solving skills and solutions.

Now, we shall discuss the considerations for developing a smart city-

Planning for the Unplanned Areas – The developments shall be made area-wise by using the mixed-land system. The land use can be wise by creating plans for close areas having a variety of compatible and necessary activities. By creating such plans there can be a more efficient use of the land and less wastage, while still providing all the necessary options and services. Furthermore, the land use flexibility will increase and new buildings can adapt to change as per new laws.

Providing Housing Opportunities – The housing opportunities will grow for all. By this, people will be able to buy or rent their dream homes. It can get easier and of course, there will be more space for every person who wants to live in his/her home.

Creating Beautiful Localities – Everyone desires to live in beautiful localities where they could find almost everything they need. The locality should be walkable, which can help in reducing air pollution, noise pollution, resource degradation, and congestion. It shall provide security, help with user interaction, and boost the local economy. The network of roads should be designed according to pedestrians and cyclists as well, and not just as per the various vehicles. While designing the plan, it should be in consideration that the important services should be within the walking range.  

 Developing and Preserving Open Spaces – Beautiful localities include open spaces like playgrounds, parks, and lawns. Recreational spaces like these have a good impact on the quality of life. Besides enhancing the quality of life, green spaces also reduce the heat and pollution effects which are responsible for many illnesses. So, such spaces are basically for promoting eco-balance all over and hence, are a necessary part of any smart city.

Creating Smart Transport Facilities – Transportation is the backbone of any city as people connect and commute through it. There must be a variety of transportation choices under Transport Oriented Development (TOD). Improving the means of public transport should be the prime motive as it will cause less traffic and pollutions. The smart city shall also have the facility of last mile para-transport connectivity which will support the businesses and the consumers as well.

Giving Friendly Governance Services – By making the governance easily accessible, people would be able to live freely. Digitizing the services like using online portals and systems, will create transparency and accountability. The government must promote the use of mobile phones and online transactions to avoid errands to the government office, thereby, reducing the load of both the officials and the common people. There must be forums or e-groups to solve the common queries of the public, and also a system to report feedback. An online monitoring system can look after the several activities and schedules with the help of cyber tools. The faster the services, the nicer the reputation.

Creating a Brand Position of the City – Every city is famous for some things or the others. This is the identity of the city. Smart cities must create and elevate the levels of their identity. This position can be on any basis like art and craft, health, authentic cuisines, sports, education, culture, furniture, textiles, and more such businesses. Every city must leverage the existing resources and further improve the sections where it lags behind.

Implementing Smart Solutions – Smart solutions in the areas of services, infrastructure, and quality of life should make everything better. The focus must be on the improvisation of all these areas. There must be a lesser use of resources, inexpensive services, and the areas must be livable. Smart cities must have all sorts of prevention tools and methods for disasters and even if a disaster happens, then the recovery options must be strong enough. The areas should be made very less prone to the hazards and disasters. Having a strong support for such services, everyone can live peacefully.

When there will be all these aspects then we can title it as a smart city. A perfect living area with all the facilities and services with the use of modern technologies can improve the quality of living.