The idea is to use data and technology to make everyday life easier and better for the people who live and work in the city, while maximizing the use of resources.More and more of us are living in cities the UN predicts that 68 percent of the world’s population will live in urban areas by 2050.
One report by McKinsey Global Institute found smart city technology can improve key quality of life indicators – such as the daily commute, health issues, or crime incidents by 10 to 30 percent.This is all possible thanks to a “perfect storm” of technology trends – trends that allow us to create spaces in which humans and technology interact in a more connected, intelligent, and automated way.
Keeping traffic flowingTraffic is the bane of many a city-dweller’s life, but technology offers some promising solutions.
In the Chinese city of Hangzhou, an AI-based smart “City Brain” has helped to reduce traffic jams by 15 percent.2.
Using city resources more efficientlyMobile and broadband company Telefonica has been investing heavily in smart city technology in its home country, Spain.
For example, in Amsterdam, homes are being provided with smart energy meters that are designed to incentivize reduced energy consumption, and the city of Schenectady, New York is upgrading its street lights to LED technology, which allows the lights to be adjusted or dimmed based on real-time data.4.