'Smart city' is beginning to deliver against its promise and there is more than anecdotal evidence to prove the ROI.
In fact, with the increase in Internet of Things (IoT) and connected devices, more cities around the world are becoming smarter than ever before. However, it's important to note that a smart city can be defined in different ways depending on the level of development, resources and aspirations of its residents.
This means that a smart city in Europe may have different connotations to a smart city in India or Canada.
Despite the location, a smart city is often developed using data and digital technology to improve the quality of life. The adoption of smart applications can provide a range of benefits for residents, from public safety to health and transportation. In fact, according to a report from McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), smart city applications can improve some key quality-of-life indicators like health and safety, by 10 to 30 percent.
Essentially, a smart city is the re-development of an area or city using information and communication technologies (ICT) to enhance the performance and quality of urban services such as energy, connectivity, transportation, utilities and others. A smart city is developed when 'smart' technologies are deployed to change the nature and economics of the surrounding infrastructure.
According to Gemalto a significant Information Technology supplier in this space, a smart city is best described as a framework and a big part of the ICT is an intelligent network of connected objects and machines that transmit data using wireless technology and the cloud.
In essence, cloud-based IoT applications receive and manage data in real-time to help enterprises and residents make better decisions that improve the quality of life.
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These decisions can lead to the improvement of traffic congestion, energy disruption, internet connectivity and other services while cutting costs.
The most popular example of a smart city application is connected cars, otherwise known as autonomous vehicles, which can be built to communicate with parking meters and EV charging docks to direct drivers to the nearest spot available.
Car manufacturers have begun working towards the development of connected cars, with manufacturers like Tesla already ahead of the game in autonomous driving within the US.
Gartner estimates that a total of 250 million connected cars will be on the roads by 2020, this means an expected one in five vehicles will have some form of wireless network connection by 2020.
Explore the IoT Economist for more about Smart City Technology