08 Sep Smart cities – a trend that is taking over the world
How do cities become smart? Which systems include smart cities and which are the “smartest” cities in the world?
The Smart City is becoming more and more commonly known, and a large number of cities around the world imply intelligent systems in different spheres of the community’s functioning to reduce costs and energy consumption and make citizens’ lives simpler.
The emergence of this concept is a direct response to two key trends that are taking place right now: urbanization and technology development.
Namely, the process of urbanization has affected most European and world cities, where the number of inhabitants moving to cities is constantly increasing, which directly affects the functioning of the entire city and its infrastructure. In order to meet citizens’ needs, cities need to face the challenge of increased energy, food, water, urban transport organizations and the like.
With the aim of improving the quality of life of citizens, there is a need to find new innovative solutions that will ensure sustainability, but also reduce energy consumption and harmful gas emissions. Also, growth and development take place in all segments of society, and technology is the fastest developing technology, and today we are witnessing the informatics and technological revolution of the new era. So smart cities are reactions to urbanization but also a product of accelerated development of information technologies and knowledge that are based on Internet of Things (IoT) technology. This term refers to the installation of sensors and their connection to networks (local and city) in order to control and manage objects. In this way, all smart solutions are combined, and all the separate entities that make the smart city smart.
Smart Cities are the vision of the future that has already knocked on the door of the present, and has improved the lives of citizens in a large number of cities around the world. The smart city is nothing but a system that integrates various information, communication and digital technologies, and IoT solutions to improve city management, efficiency of city services, and reduce costs that contribute to environmental protection and raise living standards.
This implies the implementation of smart solutions in all areas of public services such as lighting, traffic, energy production and their integration, which speeds communication between these systems and ultimately achieves sustainable development.
What are the smart cities compared to the “regular” ones?
In order to maximize the efficiency of energy use, cities that tend to use intelligent smart systems are the most smart parking and urban transport, and smart lighting, taxi. Smart systems need to be used in city administration, security and healthcare. Smart cities can be considered as the era of this era and the main indicator of the successful development of the urban environment and its citizens.
Energy-Sustainable Cities
The characteristics of smart cities are also related to energy efficiency and sustainability, and in this respect, the trend of cities that are fully energy-efficient is growing in the world. This implies the use of renewable energy sources such as solar energy, hydro power, wind energy and biomass. Also, according to some research, the market for smart cities will increase to about $ 1.5 billion by 2020, of which about 25% refers to smart management systems, while the fastest growth is related to energy solutions.
Taking into account that cities create up to 70% of harmful greenhouse gases, it is understandable that innovations in the sphere of smart cities rely on the use of green energy, thus reducing their negative impact on the environment.
“The Most Intelligent” Cities of the World
The world’s largest metropolis is competing for the title of the smartest city and is being run on the ESE Cities in Motion index taking into account nine factors: ability to attract and invest in people, social cohesion, economy, environment, management, urban planning, technology and transport.
In 2017, New York was declared the smartest city, and got the highest rating for the economy, while the second place was the London city that was best rated in terms of attracting and investing in people. The list goes on to Paris, Tokyo and Reykjavik, which is proof that smart cities are not just megalopolis. In the top 10 there were also Singapore, Seoul, Toronto, Hong Kong and Amsterdam, one of the first cities to apply smart systems for their penetration.
In our area, this topic has only recently begun to be interesting in the focus of the city authorities of certain cities in the region. Become a smart city requires initiative, commitment, and investments that are long-term profitable for all citizens.
TELEMAX business center is the first smart building in Banja Luka, and the company itself is committed to implementing intelligent systems and to the use of renewable energy sources through its activities and business.
