From congestion and crime to sanitation and facility maintenance, cities worldwide always face the same issues. Finding ways to solve these problems brought about the evolution of smart cities. Using the Internet of Things(IoT) to collect electronic data and improve the quality of life is what makes a city ‘smart.’ In this article, we’ll explore smart cities’ key features and problems.
Improving life with smart energy
One major aspect where cities are becoming ‘smarter’ is energy. Many smart cities adopt the use of smart meters instead of mechanical meters. These digital meters can monitor customers’ usage and also aid in discovering the cause of a power outage.
Since the main purpose of any electric grid is to reduce downtime to the minimum whenever faults occur, aside from efficiently providing power, smart energy is a step forward. With the different smart energy propositions, providing energy becomes more effective.
Implementing a smart traffic flow management system
In many cities, transportation is constantly disturbed by incessant traffic. Smart transportation helps cities solve the issues that come with high traffic. Smart cities can adopt a smart system to manage traffic flow by installing sensors to detect delays and adjust traffic light timing.
Smart cities may also enlist parking meters equipped with monitors or sensors that communicate with a user app and central server. These smart parking meters can suggest available parking spots to drivers. These meters could also charge parkers automatically and inform the user of expiration.
The leading smart city in the world
A smart city uses digital technology to enhance sustainability, public safety, and the general quality of life. One of the top smart cities in the world is Singapore. The country has adopted a digital healthcare system to cater to its aging population.
Being one of the most densely populated, they have a Smart Nation vision to collect information about the citizens’ everyday activities using sensors. This helps in knowing everything, like how clean an area is. Their smart solutions are second to none.
A rather surprising smart city
While cities like Oslo and Zurich may top the list of smart cities, New York is one of the smartest cities in the world. The city enhances connectivity in different ways, like adopting the use of WiFi-enabled charging stations instead of phone booths.
As part of New York’s 2020 smart city pilot project, large amounts of data help manage vital services around the city, like waste collection and management. Several sensors have been stationed across different New York districts to improve residents’ lives.
Does the evolution of smart cities raise any concerns
One of the main features of smart cities is the collection and sharing of information. In smart cities, it’s a norm to monitor different aspects of people’s lives with sensors. These inevitable features raise concerns about data security and privacy.
To avert the potential issues that may arise, smart cities would have to adopt watertight security measures to protect citizens’ information. Similarly, storing information online makes it possible to get hacked and tampered with.