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Smart city - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Smart city
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Urban performance currently depends not only on the city's endowment of hard infrastructure ('physical
capital'), but also, and increasingly so, on the availability and quality of knowledge communication and
social infrastructure ('intellectual capital and social capital'). The latter form of capital is decisive for urban
competitiveness. It is against this background that the concept of the smart city has been introduced as a
strategic device to encompass modern urban production factors in a common framework and to highlight
the growing importance of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), social and environmental
capital in profiling the competitiveness of cities.[1] The significance of these two assets - social and
environmental capital - itself goes a long way to distinguish smart cities from their more technology-laden
counterparts, drawing a clear line between them and what goes under the name of either digital or
intelligent cities.
Smart(er) cities have also been used as a marketing concept by companies and by cities.

Contents
1 Definition
2 Policy context
3 Characteristics
3.1 A stage reached in the development of infrastructure
3.2 A strategy for creating a competitive environment
3.3 An approach to inclusive and sustainable cities
4 Wireless sensor networks for smart cities
4.1 Online collaborative sensor data management platforms
5 Criticism
6 Examples of use
6.1 Use by cities
7 See also
8 References

Definition
A city can be defined as smart when investments in human and social capital and traditional (transport)
and modern (ICT) communication infrastructure fuel sustainable economic development and a high quality
of life, with a wise management of natural resources, through participatory action and engagement.

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(Caragliu et al. 2009). To Gildo Seisdedos Domnguez, the smart city concept essentially means efficiency.
But efficiency based on the intelligent management and integrated ICTs, and active citizen participation.
Then implies a new kind of governance, genuine citizen involvement in public policy.[2]
Smart cities can be identified (and ranked) along six main axes or dimensions:[3] These six axes connect
with traditional regional and neoclassical theories of urban growth and development. In particular, the axes
are based - respectively - on theories of regional competitiveness, transport and ICT economics, natural
resources, human and social capital, quality of life, and participation of citizens in the governance of cities.
It insists that smart cities are defined by their innovation and their ability to solve problems and use of ICTs
to improve this capacity. The intelligence lies in the ability to solve problems of these communities is
linked to technology transfer for when a problem is solved. In this sense, intelligence is an inner quality of
any territory, any place, city or region where innovation processes are facilitated by information and
communication technologies. What varies is the degree of intelligence, depending on the person, the system
of cooperation, and digital infrastructure and tools that a community offers its residents (Komninos 2002).

Policy context
The concept of the smart city as the next stage in the process of urbanisation has been quite fashionable in
the policy arena in recent years, with the aim of drawing a distinction from the terms digital city or
intelligent city.[4] Its main focus is still on the role of ICT infrastructure, but much research has also been
carried out on the role of human capital/education, social and relational capital and environmental interest
as important drivers of urban growth.
The European Union (EU), in particular, has devoted constant efforts to devising a strategy for achieving
urban growth in a smart (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/smart) sense for its metropolitan city-regions.[5][6]
Other international institutions and thinktanks also believe in a wired, ICT-driven form of development.
The Intelligent Community Forum produces, for instance, research on the local effects of the worldwide
ICT revolution. The OECD and EUROSTAT Oslo Manual[7] stresses instead the role of innovation in ICT
sectors and provides a toolkit to identify consistent indicators, thus shaping a sound framework of analysis
for researchers on urban innovation. At a mesoregional level, we observe renewed attention for the role of
soft communication infrastructure in determining economic performance.[8]
The availability and quality of the ICT infrastructure is not the only definition of a smart or intelligent city.
Other definitions stress the role of human capital and education and learning in urban development. It has
been shown, for example,[9][10] that the most rapid urban growth rates have been achieved in cities where a
high share of educated labour force is available.
Innovation is driven by entrepreneurs who innovate in industries and products which require an
increasingly more skilled labour force. Because not all cities are equally successful in investing in human
capital, an educated labour force the 'creative class' [11] is spatially clustering over time. This tendency
for cities to diverge in terms of human capital has attracted the attention of researchers and policy makers. It
turns out that some cities, which were in the past better endowed with a skilled labour force, have managed
to attract more skilled labour, whereas competing cities failed to do so. Policy makers, and in particular
European ones, are most likely to attach a consistent weight to spatial homogeneity; in these circumstances
the progressive clustering of urban human capital is then a major concern.
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Characteristics
The label smart city is still quite a fuzzy concept and is used in ways that are not always consistent. This
section summarises the characteristics of a smart city that most frequently recur in discussions of the topic.

A stage reached in the development of infrastructure

This usage is centred around the "utilisation of networked infrastructure to improve economic and
political efficiency and enable social, cultural and urban development",[12] where the term infrastructure
indicates business services, housing, leisure and lifestyle services, and ICTs (mobile and fixed phones,
satellite TVs, computer networks, e-commerce, internet services), and brings to the forefront the idea of a
wired city as the main development model and of connectivity as the source of growth.[4]
The critical role of high-tech and creative industries in long-run urban growth is stressed. This factor, along
with soft infrastructure ("knowledge networks, voluntary organisations, crime-free environments, after
dark entertainment economy"),[12] is the core of Richard Florida's research.[11]
The basic idea is that "creative occupations are growing and firms now orient themselves to attract 'the
creative'". While the presence of a creative and skilled workforce does not guarantee urban performance, in
a knowledge-intensive and increasingly globalised economy, these factors will determine increasingly the
success of cities.[13]

A strategy for creating a competitive environment

Here, a smart city is taken to be one that takes advantage of the opportunities ICTs offer to increase local
prosperity and competitiveness - an approach which implies integrated urban development based on
multi-actor, multi-sector, and multi-level perspectives.[6][14]
This leads to an "underlying emphasis on business-led urban development",[12] creating business-friendly
cities with the aim of attracting new businesses. The data shows that business-oriented cities are indeed
among those with a satisfactory socio-economic performance. To this end, cities may design business parks
as Smart Cities: Kochi, Malta, Dubai are all examples.
Local intelligence capacity is intrinsically linked to that of the knowledge-based economy where
innovation and technology are main drivers of growth[15] and the collective community intelligence,
which underlines capacity and networks as main drivers of a community's success.[16] This requires a
planning paradigm pertinent for urban-regional development and innovation management, similar to the
related concept of intelligent cities (or communities, clusters, districts and multi-cluster territories). By
developing sector-focused, cluster-based or more complex intelligent city strategies, territories can set in
motion innovation mechanisms of global dimensions and enhance substantially their innovation systems.[5]
Smart cities as innovation ecosystems could offer ample opportunities for sustainable, user-driven
intelligent services. This can be achieved by combining open innovation processes, advanced eGovernment service applications, cloud computing and IoT technologies.[17]

An approach to inclusive and sustainable cities

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An alternative approach gives profound attention to the role of social and relational capital in urban
development. Here, a smart city will be a city whose community has learned to learn, adapt and
innovate.[18] This can include a strong focus on the aim to achieve the social inclusion of various urban
residents in public services (e.g. Southampton's smart card)[19] and emphasis on citizen participation in codesign.[20] [21]
Sustainability is seen here as a major strategic component of smart cities. The move towards social
sustainability can be seen in the integration of e-participation techniques such as online consultation and
deliberation over proposed service changes to support the participation of users as citizens in the
democratisation of decisions taken about future levels of provision.[22]
Environmental sustainability is important in a world where resources are scarce, and where cities are
increasingly basing their development and wealth on tourism and natural resources: their exploitation must
guarantee the safe and renewable use of natural heritage. This last point is linked to business led
development, because the wise balance of growth-enhancing measures, on the one hand, and the protection
of weak links, on the other, is a cornerstone for sustainable urban development.

Wireless sensor networks for smart cities

Wireless sensor networks is a specific technology that helps to create Smart Cities. The aim is to create a
distributed network of intelligent sensor nodes which can measure many parameters for a more efficient
management of the city.[23] The data is delivered wirelessly and in real-time to the citizens or the
appropriate authorities.
For example, citizens can monitor the pollution concentration in each street of the city or they can get
automatic alarms when the radiation level rises a certain level. It is also possible for the authorities to
optimize the irrigation of parks or the lighting of the city. Water leaks can be easily detected or noise maps
can be obtained. Rubbish bins can send an alarm when they are close to being full.
Vehicle traffic can be monitored in order to modify the city lights in a dynamic way.[24] Traffic can be
reduced with systems that detect where the nearest available parking slot is.[25] Motorists get timely
information so they can locate a free parking slot quickly, saving time and fuel. This information can reduce
traffic jams and pollution improve the quality of life. It has also been recently asserted that, due to the
revenue-generating nature of parking, smart parking systems could be the ideal foundation for building
municipal wireless networks. These sensing networks could later be extended to include other types of
sensing,[26] as California-based company Streetline announced it would offer in early 2014, adding road
surface temperature and noise sensing capabilities to its smart parking portfolio.[27]
Combined sewer overflow (CSO) events can be mitigated by using distributed rainwater harvesting
infrastructure to reduce peak flows and maximize wet weather capture.[28] This enables wastewater
treatment facilities to treat stormwater runoff rather than it being flushed to the receiving water body.

Online collaborative sensor data management platforms

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Online collaborative sensor data management platforms are on-line database services that allow sensor
owners to register and connect their devices to feed data into an online database for storage and also allow
developers to connect to the database and build their own applications based on that data. Examples include
Xively and the Wikisensing platform (http://wikisensing.org). Such platforms simplify online collaboration
between users over diverse data sets ranging from energy and environment data to collected from transport
services.[29] Other services include allowing developers to embed real-time graphs & widgets in websites;
analyse and process historical data pulled from the data feeds; send real-time alerts from any datastream to
control scripts, devices and environments.
The architecture of the Wikisensing system [30] describes the key components of such systems to include
APIs and interfaces for online collaborators, a middleware containing the business logic needed for the
sensor data management and processing and a storage model suitable for the efficient storage and retrieval
of large volumes of data.

Criticism
The main arguments against the superficial use of this concept in the policy arena are:[12]
A bias in strategic interest may lead to ignoring alternative avenues of promising urban development.
The focus of the concept of smart city may lead to an underestimation of the possible negative effects
of the development of the new technological and networked infrastructures needed for a city to be
smart.[31]
The idea of neo-liberal urban spaces has been criticised for the potential risks associated with putting an
excessive weight on economic values as the sole driver of urban development. Among these possible
development patterns, policy makers would better consider those that depend not only on a business-led
model.
As a globalized business model is based on capital mobility, following a business-oriented model may
result in a losing long term strategy: "The 'spatial fix' inevitably means that mobile capital can often 'write
its own deals' to come to town, only to move on when it receives a better deal elsewhere. This is no less true
for the smart city than it was for the industrial, [or] manufacturing city".[12]

Examples of use
The term 'smart city' has been used in a variety of instances, and applications,[32] including the following
examples.

Use by cities
Smart City Vienna
Aarhus Smart City
Amsterdam Smart City
Cairo Smart Village
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Dubai SmartCity
Dubai Internet City
City of Edinburgh Council for their vision and action plan for e-Government implementation and
modernisation[33]
City of Eindhoven (http://www.eindhoven.nl/inwonersplein/leefomgeving/slim-licht.htm) manages a
LivingLab for creating and testing valuable applications in the famous Bar district 'Stratumseind'
(http://www.ed.nl/regio/eindhoven/eindhovens-stratumseind-wordt-proeftuin-1.4061962?
ref=search_form) and is preparing a smart lighting platform, together with industry, research
institutes, and the people living in Eindhoven.
Kochi SmartCity business park
Lyon Smart City [34]
Smart City Mlaga
Malta SmartCity business park
SmartSantander
Songdo International Business District
Southampton City Council use it to describe their use of smart cards as part of integrated service
provision
Yokohama Smart City
Verona Smart City

See also
Cluster development
The Creative City
Digital city
Intelligent city
Knowledge Economy
Knowledge spillover
Mesh cities
Smart Nation
Spatial intelligence of cities
Sustainable urban infrastructure
Ubiquitous City

References
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1. ^ Caragliu, A; Del Bo, C. & Nijkamp, P (2009). "Smart cities in Europe"

(http://ideas.repec.org/p/dgr/vuarem/2009-48.html). Serie Research Memoranda 0048 (VU University
Amsterdam, Faculty of Economics, Business Administration and Econometrics).
2. ^ Seisdedos, Gildo (2012). "Qu es una Smart City?"
(http://www.coit.es/publicaciones/bit/bit188/monograficoseisdedos.pdf). Bit 188: 3537.
3. ^ Giffinger, Rudolf; Christian Fertner; Hans Kramar; Robert Kalasek; Nataa Pichler-Milanovic; Evert Meijers
(2007). "Smart cities Ranking of European medium-sized cities" (http://www.smartcities.eu/download/smart_cities_final_report.pdf). Smart Cities. Vienna: Centre of Regional Science.
4. ^ a b Komninos Nicos (2002). Intelligent cities: innovation, knowledge systems and digital spaces. London: Spon
Press.
5. ^ a b Komninos, Nicos (2009). "Intelligent cities: towards interactive and global innovation environments".
International Journal of Innovation and Regional Development (Inderscience Publishers) 1 (4): 337355(19).
doi:10.1504/ijird.2009.022726 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1504%2Fijird.2009.022726).
6. ^ a b Paskaleva, K (25 January 2009). "Enabling the smart city:The progress of e-city governance in Europe".
International Journal of Innovation and Regional Development 1 (4): 405422(18).
doi:10.1504/ijird.2009.022730 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1504%2Fijird.2009.022730).
7. ^ OECD EUROSTAT (2005). Oslo Manual. Paris: OECD - Statistical Office of the European Communities.
8. ^ Del Bo, C.; Florio, M. (2008). "Infrastructure and growth in the European Union: an empirical analysis at the
regional level in a spatial framework". Departmental Working Papers 2008-37 (Milan: University of Milan,
Department of Economics).
9. ^ Berry, C. R.; Glaeser, E.L. (2005). "The divergence of human capital levels across cities". Papers in Regional
Science 84 (3): 407444. doi:10.1111/j.1435-5957.2005.00047.x (http://dx.doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.14355957.2005.00047.x).
10. ^ Glaeser, E.L; Berry, C. R. (2006). "Why are smart places getting smarter?". Taubman Cente Policy Brief
(Cambridge MA: Taubman Centre). 2006-2.
11. ^ a b Florida, R. L. (2009). "Class and Well-Being"
(http://www.creativeclass.com/creative_class/2009/03/17/class-and-well-being/). Retrieved 17 March 2009.
12. ^ a b c d e Hollands, R. G (2008). "Will the real smart city please stand up?". City 12 (3): 303320.
doi:10.1080/13604810802479126 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1080%2F13604810802479126).
13. ^ Nijkamp, P. (2008). "E pluribus unum". Research Memorandum, Faculty of Economics (Amsterdam: VU
University Amsterdam).
14. ^ Odendal, Nancy (November 2003). "Information and communication technology and local governance:
understanding the difference between cities in developed and emerging economies". Computers, Environment
and Urban Systems 27 (6): 585607. doi:10.1016/s0198-9715(03)00016-4 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016%2Fs01989715%2803%2900016-4).
15. ^ Torres, L; Pina, V. and Sonia, R. (2005). "E-government and the transformation of public administrations in
EU countries: Beyond NPM or just a second wave of reforms?". Online Information Review 29 (5): 531553.
doi:10.1108/14684520510628918 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1108%2F14684520510628918).
16. ^ Baron, S; Field, J. and Schuller, T (2000). Social capital: Critical perspective. Oxford University Press.

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17. ^ Ballon, P; Glidden, J.; Kranas, P.; Menychtas, A.; Ruston, S.; Van Der Graaf, S. (2011). "Is there a Need for a
Cloud Platform for European Smart Cities?" (http://www.epiccities.eu/sites/default/files/documents/eChallenges_ref_23_doc_7335.pdf). eChallenges e-2011
(http://www.echallenges.org/e2011/default.asp). Florence, Italy.
18. ^ A, Coe; Paquet, G. and Roy, J. (2001). "E-governance and smart communities: a social learning challenge".
Social Science Computer Review 19 (1): 8093.
19. ^ Southampton City Council (2006). "Southampton Smartcities Card"
(http://www.southampton.gov.uk/living/smartcities/). Retrieved 12 November 2009.
20. ^ Deakin, M (2007). "From city of bits to e-topia: taking the thesis on digitally-inclusive regeneration full
circle". Journal of Urban Technology 14 (3): 131143.
21. ^ Deakin, M; Allwinkle, S (2007). "Urban regeneration and sustainable communities: the role networks,
innovation and creativity in building successful partnerships". Journal of Urban Technology 14 (1): 7791.
doi:10.1080/10630730701260118 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1080%2F10630730701260118).
22. ^ Deakin, M (2010). Reddick, C, ed. "Review of City Portals: The Transformation of Service Provision under
the Democratization of the Fourth Phase". Politics, Democracy and E-Government: Participation and Service
Delivery (Hershey: IGI Publishing).
23. ^ Asn, Alicia;Smart Cities from Libelium allows systems integrators to monitor noise, pollution, structural
health and waste management (http://www.libelium.com/smart_cities/)
24. ^ Vehicle Traffic Monitoring Platform with Bluetooth over ZigBee
(http://www.libelium.com/vehicle_traffic_monitoring_bluetooth_sensors_over_zigbee)
25. ^ Gascn, David; Asn, Alicia;Smart Sensor Parking Platform enables city motorists save time and fuel
(http://www.libelium.com/smart_parking/)
26. ^ "Parking Tech: An Accelerator to the Connected City... the Human City" (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ziayusuf/parking-tech-an-accelerator_b_3326129.html). The Blog (huffingtonpost.com). May 23, 2013.
27. ^ "Streetline Unveils Sound Level and Surface Temperature Sensing; Advances "Internet of Things" Vision for
Cities" (http://www.streetline.com/2014/01/streetline-unveils-sound-and-surface-temperature-sensing-advancesinternet-of-things-vision-for-cities/). Streetline.com. January 7, 2014.
28. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-1qxKcOSeg
29. ^ Boyle, D.; Yates, D.; Yeatman, E. (2013). "Urban Sensor Data Streams: London 2013". IEEE Internet
Computing 17 (6): 1. doi:10.1109/MIC.2013.85 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1109%2FMIC.2013.85).
30. ^ Silva, D.; Ghanem, M.; Guo, Y. (2012). "WikiSensing: An Online Collaborative Approach for Sensor Data
Management". Sensors 12 (12): 13295. doi:10.3390/s121013295 (http://dx.doi.org/10.3390%2Fs121013295).
31. ^ On this topic, see also Graham, S.; Marvin, S. (1996). Telecommunications and the city: electronic spaces,
urban place. London: Routledge.
32. ^ Sustainable smart city IoT applications: Heat and electricity management & Eco-conscious cruise control for
public transportation [1] (http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/WoWMoM.2013.6583500)
33. ^ http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/internet/Council/Campaigns_and_projects/CEC_smart_city_home_page
34. ^ http://www.business.greaterlyon.com/lyon-smart-city-france-europe.346.0.html?&L=1

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