Smart Cities is a term denoting the effective integration of physical, digital and

human systems in the built environment to deliver a sustainable, prosperous and

inclusive future for its citizens.

Sustainable cities are the development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
It contains within it two key concepts:
*the concept of 'needs', in particular the essential needs of the world's poor,
to which overriding priority should be given.
*the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organiza-
tion on the environment's ability to meet present and future needs.

Smart cities and ICT

From a technology standpoint, a smart city relies on embedded sensors and devices
to gather data and then share that information via a combined wired and wireless
communications system. Information from transportation systems, roadways, power and
water systems, buildings, and other parts of the built environment is fed into
software that analyses and organises it for use by local authorities, service
providers, businesses and citizens to enhance services, address problems, and tap
into information. For instance, smart power and water grids not only improve
service delivery reliability and efficiency, they also help customers control their
usage and lower their bills. Smart transportation systems optimise citywide travel
by providing things like traffic mapping, public transport arrival and departure
times, and taxi locations. This information is relayed via a variety of means,
including tablet and smartphone applications.

Essential to the creation of a smart city is a good broadband network. Fibre optic
is currently the fastest type of connection available however, the most robust
network combines fibre optic with cable and wireless networking to ensure broadband
availability is as wide-reaching as possible, with the focus for fibre optic
initially being in key areas like emergency response centres, learning centres,
government centres, research and technical institutions, and key business areas.

Once a broadband network is established, the next step is to ensure that the city�s
infrastructure and spaces are fitted with embedded systems that can provide real
time data. Those systems then need to be interconnected to form an integrated ICT
infrastructure. Finally, eservices and web-based applications need to be developed
to ensure the right information gets to the right end users.Future of cities series
The Government's Future of cities is a forward looking project that explores the
challenges and opportunities in regards to our cities over the next 50 years. The
collection was first launched by the Government Office for Science in June 2013 and
continues to be updated with new reports, working papers, essays, blog entries and
announcements on a regular basis.

The collection has been structured around six primary urban themes:

Life
Economy
Metabolism
Form
Infrastructure
Governance

Smart cities and quality of life

One of the most glaring problems facing future cities is how to make sure that the
fundamental needs of its growing population are met. At its most basic level, a
city needs to provide its people with uninterrupted access to power, water, food,
transportation and healthcare in both normal (blue sky) conditions and during
disruptive events. Through the use of smart city technology and innovation,
gathered data can be used to predict system behaviour and foresee problems. This
allows the city to better meet population needs consistently, as well as provide
additional benefits to enhance quality of life. This includes things like:

*High quality, reliable, superfast broadband network

*Agile transportation systems and interactive bus shelters
*Citywide cloud access and near field communication (NFC)-enhanced digital services
*GPS for bikes and bike route calculators
*Improved public safety
*Cleaner air via cleaner energy sources and the integration of nature into the
city�s footprint
*Smart grids to reduce energy consumption, CO2 emissions, and problem response
times
*Energy efficient housing that takes advantage of natural lighting
*Higher quality food through urban agricultural programmes
*Disaster preparedness and proactive response to weather events

Smart cities and sustainability

While the foundation of a smart city is its use of technology to enhance city
performance and optimise service delivery, a major factor in what makes a city a
smart city is its level of sustainability. A truly smart city uses technology to
become selfaware, which enables informed decision making and facilitates positive
change. This includes things like tracking weather conditions and measuring water
supply and consumption to efficiently manage use and tracking waste patterns to
create more efficient recycling programmes.

Key elements of a sustainable smart city include:

Offering a sustainable agricultural ecosystem and plentiful access to raw materials

Favouring efficient building design, sustainable energy systems, green
transportation, and green living
Providing zero footprint water consumption through low and high tech means
(rainwater collection, recycling systems)
Exhibiting an awareness of its own context and local impact
Resiliency to long-term changes

Challenges faced
Whatever definition a city�s authorities chooses to adopt and work towards, the one
element that remains universal is that smart cities are not static cities; there
will always be new challenges that require continual innovation and the ability to
adapt to conceptualised data.

This includes things like:

*Population growth and meeting the needs of an ageing populace

*Increased human mobility and the globalisation of economies, ecologies, risks,
demographics
*Geo-political shifts and governance framework changes
*Inequality (social tensions) and insecurity (food, water, energy)
*Developing technologies and climate change

Currently, the Earth is home to over 7.4 billion people, with over half of those
living in an urban setting and using 80% of the planet�s resources. By 2050, the
population is forecast to be just under 10 billion people, with 80% of that
population expected to be urbanised. The challenge that every city is facing is how
to best deliver the resources and services needed to ensure a thriving population
and good economic performance. For many, the most obvious answer is to use new and
evolving information and communication technologies (ICT) to enable data analysis
and sharing between delivery channels. This in turn, allow local authorities and
service providers to monitor and control resource delivery in real time and
proactively address needs. The popular term for a city that takes this approach is
�smart city�. But the experts and visionaries will tell you that creating a truly
smart city is about more than adopting ICT solutions, it�s also about
sustainability and quality of life.