Smart cities. Yes, it all started with “smart” phones and then there was “smart” water (how exactly?), and now “smart” wallets. Before long, everything will be smarter than you and me and us. But before that idea gets too depressing, there are many reasons to be excited!
With the information revolution upon us and reshaping our global culture, more and more innovators are building self-sustaining, self-monitoring technology within products. As a natural environmentalist at heart, I’m obsessed with air quality, green products, organic/local groceries and toiletries, and, well, the overall health of the planet. The goal is to have a healthier planet for my great-grandchildren, and for all of humanity, really. Maybe it was the 1992 film “FernGully,” or the fifth grade “Save the Rainforest” fundraiser or Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth,” but whatever it was, I have been forever attuned to pro-environment initiatives and have been pleased to hear that we now have smart cities being introduced to the world.
So, what is a smart city exactly? A smart city is a city that uses communication technology to gather information that will be useful to its citizens and to provide further services to an infrastructure enhancement.
This all sounds really boring, but after waiting on a delayed rush hour 6 Uptown train packed to the doors, suddenly you may find yourself wanting to live in one of these so-called smart cities… Fighting for a better commute to work (rerouting transportation systems around heavily trafficked areas), fighting for better responsiveness during emergencies and medical needs, fighting for better ways to utilize natural energy and reusing “energy waste,” all while providing cost and energy savings and decreasing our collective carbon footprint. Currently, Amsterdam comes to mind. On newly named Climate Street, Amsterdam has trash collected by nonpolluting electric trucks, while the city bus stops, billboard advertisements and lights are all powered with solar energy. The river provides electric charging pit stops where boats can reenergize instead of using high polluting diesel generators. And then, when it comes to the homes, they’re all hooked up. Many homes have been upgraded to automatically shut off appliances and dim lights and these tracking systems and real-time capabilities are also connected to your smartphone via apps. Yes, it costs billions of dollars (or euros) but in the end, it saves billions. In Barcelona, Spain, a flexible grid system (using Google Maps and genius-smart algorithms) links up city networks to redirect traffic and transportation systems automatically, avoiding gridlock. The city has a network management system that helps determine the fastest route between two points. And, in Rio de Janiero, I.B.M. has built an Operation Center for the city that captures data from sensors, video cameras and GPS systems and then uses this info to dispatch ambulances to an incident while providing personal alerts to citizens via email, text or instant messaging.
Yes, it’s all very Matrix-y, but it’s amazingly efficient and convenient. It gets me nerdily excited about the very near future and how all of these new technologies will affect our client, Verizon 4G LTE. Imagine the possibilities!
-Melinda Frye, Senior Account Executive, GlobalHue
Sources:
10 Most Impressive Smart Cities On Earth
How Smart Cities Are Leveraging The Real-Time Availability Of Data
Flex-Grid Prevents Network Traffic Jams