The rise of the smart city

The rise of the smart city

TECHNOLOGY 
Thursday, March 27th, 2014

 

 San Francisco, one of The New Economy's top 20 smart cities of 2014. As more people gravitate towards cities, it is important to ensure technology can keep up with increases in populations

We examine the top 20 cities that look the likeliest to drive change in the future, in The New Economy’s Smart Cities 2014

For the first time in history the majority of the human population are city dwellers, according to the World Health Organisation. As few as two in every 10 people lived in urban areas 100 years ago: by 1990, that figure had risen to 40 percent and by 2010 exceeded 50 percent. Those figures are a testament to the growing importance of cities in modern economies.

The number of urban residents is forecast to grow by approximately 60 million every year and the overall number of city dwellers is expected to almost double between 2009 and 2050 – from 3.4 billion to 6.4 billion. This state of affairs is leading to increasingly sophisticated technological, societal and economic gains in some of the world’s most advanced cities.

Not to be confused with the all-too-familiar patchwork of office blocks and assorted greys, these ‘smart’ cities are instead vibrant hubs for research and progress. The concept might sound foreign to the many who’ve come to associate cities with pollution and over population, but it is one that is steadily gathering momentum.

These cities, more than anything else, are catalysts for change, and should serve as prime examples of how communities can not only boost their fortunes but also their general quality of life.

We are proud to announce the 20 cities we believe best represent the world of tomorrow. They are far from an exhaustive rundown of the world’s greatest cities, but instead represent the scope and scale of the changes at hand.

scale of the changes at hand.

ACCRA

Ghana is among the fastest-growing economies in the world, thanks largely to its burgeoning oil and gas industry. Nowhere can this be better seen than in the country’s capital. The opportunities to be had are plenty, provided the country’s infrastructure can expand to accommodate the city’s rapid development. Expect Accra’s infrastructural capacity to take on a new shape in the coming months and years as the country finds ways to accommodate these unprecedented changes to its economic and social landscapes.

CURITIBA

Brazil’s eighth-most populous city has been lauded numerous times in recent years for its capacity to deliver on sustainable urban development schemes. Among its most impressive projects is a rapid transit system that delivers on its promise of environmental sustainability, efficiency and cost-effectiveness. The city’s near flawless transport system and meticulous city planning approach have together helped curtail emissions in the region and make Curitiba an example of how best to layout a sustainable city plan.

EINDHOVEN

Eindhoven accommodates all manner of international businesses, and is a breeding ground for innovation due to its progressive nature and strong economy. The city ranked third in the FT’s Foreign Direct Investment Index, the highest ever of any Dutch city, due to its shared economic strategy. The city is home to various leading players in the technology and design sectors – most notably Philips, founded there in 1891. Such companies have made Eindhoven a major technology and industrial hub, and created an ecosystem of creativity.

GRONINGEN

The Dutch city was named one of the European Commission’s top three finalists this year for the accolade of European Capital of Innovation 2014. The judges attributed the city’s nomination to its “use of new concepts, tools and processes to develop a user-centred smart energy ecosystem”. Groningen is a focal point for sustainable energy development in Europe. Groups such as the Energy and Sustainability Research Institute Groningen aim to accelerate the region’s sustainability credentials and create global energy solutions.

LUXEMBOURG

This city has been at the heart of its country’s transformation from industrial to diversified economy for some time now. It boasts a hospitable environment for financial services in particular – services that have formed the basis of Luxembourg’s shift from simple to complex economic landscape. Over half the city’s 100,000-plus inhabitants are foreigners, made up predominantly of individuals from neighbouring Belgium, France and Germany. Luxembourg is a showcase for the successes to be gained from diversity.

MANILA

Manila, the Philippines’ second-largest city, has welcomed an influx of people in recent years, leading many to question whether or not the growing pains will stretch the city to breaking point. While Manila is lagging behind some of its Asian neighbours in terms of future competitiveness, a number of major infrastructure projects – including a much-needed extension to the Skyway 3 elevated expressway – will hopefully ease the city’s notorious gridlock problems, create new jobs and boost Manila’s overall productivity.

MANNHEIM

Mannheim ranks among the most attractive business locations in Germany due to its competitive business environment and abundance of growth opportunities. It is the economic and cultural centre of the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region – one of Germany’s most important business locations. The city of Mannheim is perhaps best known for its university, which is by quite some margin the best business school in Germany and is believed by many to be among the best of its kind in the world.

MEDELLIN

The former homeland of the infamous Medellin drugs cartel has come on in leaps and bounds since its leader Pablo Escobar was killed a little over two decades ago. In fact, Colombia’s second-largest city has undergone one of the most extraordinary urban transformations in recent memory, culminating in it being named the world’s most innovative city by the Urban Land Institute last year. In recent years, the city has come to house various new cultural attractions and played host to all manner of infrastructural improvements.

OSAKA

Japan’s third most populous city (after Tokyo and Yokohama) is regarded the world over as the international gateway into Japanese industry, and a world leader in spearheading environmentally sustainable solutions. The city outlined its commitment to environmental sustainability in 2011 with the ‘Osaka Environment Vision’. It has since designated a special economic zone to the development of environmental and energy industries, and pioneered all manner of environmental initiatives.

RIGA

Latvia’s capital has been named one of 2014’s European Capitals of Culture. The programme, which has been running for almost 30 years, has awarded Riga a €1.5m grant to put on its own cultural events (including the London Symphony Orchestra’s first visit to Latvia and various other musical events). The recognition will no doubt boost the city’s development prospects in terms of job creation, regeneration and tourism – as it has done for the city’s predecessors, where tourist numbers have increased by an average of 12 percent.

ROTTERDAM

A full 90 percent of this Dutch city sits below sea level – a fact that has inspired all manner of sustainable advances. Rotterdam’s many schemes and initiatives are geared towards making it a flood-proof city in order to avert the potentially calamitous ramifications of climate change. Among the most impressive developments thus far have been green rooftops, water plazas and an updated transport network. Together, such projects and schemes have helped cement Rotterdam’s reputation as the world’s most sustainable port city.

SAN FRANCISCO

San Francisco has been known for its citywide ethos of innovation for 30 years or more – in particular thanks to the internet and software companies in residence at Silicon Valley. In recent years, this productive ecosystem has sliced the city’s jobless rate in half; from 10.1 percent in 2010 to less than five percent at the beginning of this year. With a number of infrastructural improvements still to come – among the most impressive of which is the Transbay Transit Centre – San Francisco’s prospects look to rise even higher in the future.

SONGDO

The high-tech paradise of Songdo is the South Korean government’s multi-billion dollar attempt to attract foreign investment on an unprecedented scale. It is a purpose-built ‘smart city’, which offers some of the most forward-thinking fixes for infrastructure and energy issues in the world: rubbish is collected through underground tubes, appliances are controlled by phone and emissions are offset by a forest-sized park. It is a haven for sustainable solutions, and the entire landmass adheres to the strictest environmental standards in existence.

SINGAPORE

The city’s plethora of human talent and its hospitable regulatory framework have cemented Singapore’s status as one of the most innovative cities in existence. The city’s diverse and highly skilled workforce, cultivated through exemplary educational institutes, has fostered a culture of innovation that spans a great many sectors and disciplines. Moreover, Singapore’s competitiveness, when coupled with the impressive corporations that work there, amounts to an incredibly productive ecosystem.

TAIPEI

Taipei already ranks among the 21st century’s most responsive cities, considering the progress it has made in recent years to accommodate the lofty demands of its citizens. The economic, cultural and political centre of Taiwan has pioneered a complex transit system, a successful river management strategy and specialised medical care – to name but a few of its innovations. The city’s progress is written on its own skyline in the shape of the famous Taipei 101 skyscraper. As the city expands, further developments will no doubt ensue.

TORONTO

Based on a broad range of criteria, Toronto was named the best city worldwide for young people in the Youthful Cities inaugural report last year. The city’s youth employment and connectivity set it apart from its many global competitors. While various governments have been criticised in recent years for failing to help young people find work, the inclusiveness of Toronto in terms of welcoming workers aged between 15 and 29 stands it in good stead to take on emerging challenges and opportunities in the coming months and years.

UTRECHT

Ranked first of 262 in the EU’s Regional Competitiveness Index 2013, Utrecht is a bastion of innovation, competitiveness and sustainability. Its impressive economic performance is largely due to strong relationships between business, government and knowledge institutions. One of the best-educated and most multilingual places in Europe, it appeals to talent and innovation – as expressed in projects aimed at developing practical applications in climate policy, traffic, services, life sciences and gaming.

VANCOUVER

What was once a hub for the oil and gas industry, and a major contributor to carbon emissions, has become a leading proponent of the green revolution. The city’s council has recently drawn up the Greenest City 2020 Action Plan, which aims to turn Vancouver into the greenest city in the world within the decade. They plan to do this by addressing carbon emissions, waste and ecosystem-related issues. On completion, Vancouver will be a prosperous and environmentally sustainable climate for individuals and businesses.

VILNIUS

Vilnius is a hub for political, economic, social and environmental change in Lithuania – and Eastern Europe as a whole – and remains one of the fastest-growing cities in the region. The city’s smart and forward-thinking management has been recognised by analysts and the media, and the rise in foreign direct investments – and their effectiveness – has also been reported. Moreover, Vilnius is the city with the world’s fastest internet connection, which has opened up extensive possibilities for technology and innovation-driven growth.

ZAGREB

Croatia’s accession to the EU last year brought with it a willingness to instigate economic and social change. Although Zagreb escaped its socialist ties two decades ago, it has taken up until now to implement an integrated plan that accommodates free market conditions. The mechanisms for instigating change on this scale have not existed until relatively recently, and investments are now being made in the environment, power management and urban modelling. Zagreb’s prospects are on the rise due to this integrated approach.

http://www.theneweconomy.com/technology/the-rise-of-the-smart-city

Tripda – Carpool easily in a fun, safe and sustainable way

Tripda is an easy-to-use and advanced carpooling system with various innovative features (e.g. safety measures, user rating system, fair price recommendations, car detail registration, user profile & preferences, SMS and email confirmation & reminders) and unlike any other carpooling website out there. Tripda’s services are free-of-charge, and it has just been launched here in Malaysia – check us out at www.tripda.com.my.

(Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TripdaMalaysia).

We take pride in enabling CARPOOLING, so as to ultimately encourage people to travel more sustainably. Carpooling reduces carbon emissions from vehicles by taking unnecessary cars off the road, and helps to preserve our invaluable environment for our children and our children’s children.

Benefits of carpooling with Tripda:

• SAVE on travel costs by sharing the bill
• Easy-to-use and SAFE carpooling system
• Travel conveniently & comfortably
• Meet fun & new people to travel with
• Various innovative features (e.g. multiple safety measures, user rating system, fair price recommendations, car detail registration, user profile & preferences, SMS and email confirmation & reminders)
• Save the environment
• Reduce traffic congestion

Check out our introductory poster on Tripda & carpooling here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/csiljiceey8twjh/Tripda_Poster_A3_Malaysia.pdf?dl=0

So start carpooling now to save money and the environment, plus make new friends too! Email us at contactus@tripda.com.my if you have questions.

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Smart Cities – A Futuristic Vision Of Urbanization In India

Across the world, the stride of migration from rural urban areas is increasing. By 2050, about 70% of the population will be living in cities, and India is no exception. India will need about 500 new cities to accommodate the rapid influx of population into its urban regions.

Interestingly, urbanization in India has for the longest time been viewed as a by-product of failed regional planning. Though this is inevitable, and will only change when the benefits of urbanization overtake the costs involved, it is an opportunity for achieving faster growth.

With increasing urbanization and the load on the land in rural areas, the Indian government has now realized the need for cities that can cope with the inherent challenges of urban living and also be magnets for investment to catalyse the local economies. The announcement of ‘100 smart cities’ falls in line with this vision.

A 'smart city' is an urban region that is highly advanced in terms of overall infrastructure, sustainable real estate, communications and market viability. It is a city with information technology as its principal infrastructure and the very basis for providing essential services to its residents. There are many technological platforms involved, including but not limited to automated sensor networks and data centres. Though this may sound futuristic, it is now likely to become a reality as the ‘smart cities’ movement unfolds in India.

A smart city offers a superior way of life to its denizens, and one wherein economic development and activity is sustainable and rationally incremental by virtue of being based on success-oriented market drivers such as supply and demand. They literally benefit everybody, including denizens, businesses, the government and moreover the environment.

Origins Of The 'Smart City' Concept

The concept of smart cities originated at the time when the entire world was facing one of the worst economic crises. In 2008, IBM began work on a 'smarter cities' concept as part of its Smarter Planet initiative. By the beginning of 2009, the concept had captivated the imagination of various nations across the globe.

Countries like South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and China began to invest heavily into research and the formation of smart cities. Today, there are a number of excellent precedents that India can emulate for its own smart cities programme:

• Smart City Vienna in Austria
• Aarhus Smart City in Denmark
• Amsterdam Smart City
• Cairo Smart Village in Egypt
• Dubai Smart City and Dubai Internet City in the UAE
• Smart City Lyon in France
• Smart City Málaga in Spain
• Malta Smart City
• The Songdo International Business District near Seoul, South Korea
• Yokohama Smart City in Japan
• Verona Smart City in Italy

Smart Cities In India

In India, the cities that have ongoing or proposed smart cities include Kochi in Kerala, Ahmedabad in Gujarat, Aurangabad in Maharashtra, Manesar in Delhi NCR, Khushkera in Rajasthan, Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Ponneri in Tamil Nadu and Tumkur in Karnataka. Many of these cities will include special investment regions or special economic zones with modified regulations and tax structures aimed at making is easier and more attractive for foreign companies to invest in them.

This is an essential factor for success for smart cities in India, because much of the funding for these projects will have to come from private developers and from abroad.

Challenges

The smart city concept is not without challenges, especially in a country like India. For instance, the success of such a city depends on its residents, entrepreneurs and visitors to the city becoming actively involved in energy saving and implementation of new technologies. There are many ways to make residential, commercial and public spaces sustainable by ways of technology, but a high percentage of the total energy use is still in the hands of end users and their behaviour. Also, there is the time factor – such cities can potentially take anything between 20-30 years to build.



刊登者：Anuj Puri
Anuj Puri
https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140826051804-183425285-smart-cities-a-futuristic-vision-of-urbanization-in-india

The City of the Future Report

The City of the Future Report
Executive Summary

MAKING A COMMITMENT TO THE CITY OF THE FUTURE

 San Diego is well positioned to nurture a new and exciting vision for itself as an intelligent information city, a global city of the future, ready and able to plug into the rapidly emerging global information economy.

 Based upon the belief that the political will exists, with government and industry joining forces in the community, to transform San Diego into the city it must be to provide a productive and fertile economic environment for its citizens in the next century– a truly international information city– Mayor Susan Golding created the Mayor's Advisory Committee on the City of the Future.

 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE STATE OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN SAN DIEGO

The much-heralded development of "infor-mation highways" is a worldwide phenomenon.  Such "information highways" represent the new infrastructure of a post-industrial society.  Building the information highways may be crucial to our political and economic survival in the new world order of global interdependent economies.  However, there are three broad areas of concern facing all of us as we think about the role of communications in the social and economic development of our region:

I.      Cooperation between the private and public sectors is essential to achieve the benefits that technology affords us.

II.     The challenge for San Diego is not building the infrastructure, but rather, ensuring the benefits are widely understood and that the systems are used by all sectors of our economy.
III.   Cities — independent of the federal or state governments — must develop their own bold telecommunications policy, and do so in cooperation with their neighbors in San Diego County and Baja California.

CAPITALIZE ON THE DIVERSE INTERESTS WITHIN THE CITY

On April 28, 1993, the Mayor's Advisory Committee on the City of the Future held its in­augural meeting.  The mission of the Committee on the City of the Future was to:  examine the importance of information technology to San Diego's future; evaluate San Diego's readiness for such a vision; recommend steps to be taken to hasten and facilitate the development of a new industry and government cooperative, and to build widespread community awareness for the concept of the city of tomorrow, today.

From April through December 1993, the Committee met to carry out its charge.  In August 1993, additional community leaders were brought into this challenging effort to serve on subcommittees addressing specific areas of concern.

On September 8, 1993, the Committee held a full day retreat to devise a first draft vision statement, which would be a tool for guiding the work of the subcommittees (a copy of the  Vision of Prosperity is included on page 1).

The Committee observed that the future is most fruitful for San Diegans not only because of a commitment to embracing the new technologies, but because of far-sighted government leadership and bold initiatives welcoming new and innovative partnerships that remove the barriers to robust economic development.  Against this background, the Committee respectfully submits the following recommendations:

 RECOMMENDATIONS

1.   ESTABLISH A PRIVATE/PUBLIC PARTNERSHIP

Information Highways– the most advanced communications infrastructure ever conceived– are the new “rivers of commerce.”  Like cities built along railroads and interstate highways in an earlier era, successful cities of the future in the post-industrial economy will depend heavily on the sophisticated use of information highways, information technologies, and the development of information products and services.

San Diego has long been a leader in the implementation of telecommunications technology.  The region boasts an enormous broadband telecommunications capacity (via fiber optic cable, broadband wired and wireless communications systems); however, these current systems are typically discrete, unable to "talk to each other," and serving only the specific needs of each controlling institution.

Although telecommunications regulation has traditionally rested in the hands of the state and federal government, the rapidly changing technological environment is changing this.  The California Public Utilities Commission in a recent report recommended that the state, "Above all, encourage relentless innovation in the ways advanced telecommunications is provided and used in the state."  It is in the best interest of all its citizens that the City take this to heart and carve a new niche for itself in the emerging information landscape.

To this end, the City of San Diego should establish a private/public partnership to build a community-wide communications infra-structure to serve the citizens of San Diego.

Such a partnership linking of all of San Diego’s major institutions and facilities, including small business, health care providers, schools and universities, the military, museums, art and cultural attractions, the tourist and entertainment industries, local utilities, and local government will provide the public and private sectors greater, more timely access to important services which will make the region more economically attractive, internationally competitive, and enhance the quality of daily life in San Diego.

The City of San Diego should issue a Request for Information (RFI) seeking information from the telecommunication industry regarding the development of such a partnership to serve the telecommunications needs of the community and to both participate in and facilitate the creation of such a community-wide grid.

The primary goal of this Request for Information effort should be to determine the most effective and timely means to link these constituencies together through an interconnected fiber optic telecommunications grid, but including other wired and wireless technologies, at the lowest possible cost.

2.   DEVELOP  A TELECOMMUNICA-TIONS POLICY  OFFICE

In the 21st century, new technologies and their efficient management will play a key role in regional economic development and improved delivery of government and social services.  Currently, responsibility for various telecommunications services is scattered throughout different offices within the San Diego city government.

 The City should develop a Telecommunications Policy Office with dual reporting lines to the City Council and the Mayor and to the City Manager.  This office would be responsible for keeping the City abreast of developments and potential applications of new and emerging telecommunications technologies.

 The Telecommunications Policy Office would serve as a catalyst between the public and private sector to determine ways in which improved government services can be provided electronically and to facilitate public/private partnerships to do so.

 In establishing the mandate for such an office, the City should carefully examine the many duplicative and overlapping responsibilities for telecommunications and information technologies that currently exist and those services most affected by such technologies.  Such analysis should provide the office with sufficient breadth of authority to advise the Mayor and the Council to fundamentally transform the way government operates today.

 At the state level, for example, CALTRANS is redefining “transportation” to include the movement of information as well as vehicular traffic, goods and people.

3.     ACCELERATE GOVERNMENT USE OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

The City of San Diego must take the lead in transforming existing ways of communicating.  In the interest of providing greater accessibility and promoting time and cost savings, the City of San Diego should ensure that all publicly available information and forms be made available electronically, and the City should also accept government forms such as city permits and applications electronically.

 As part of this accelerated agenda for transforming government and the way its services are delivered, the City of San Diego should consider specific proposed projects– already in varying stages of development– that use advanced communications to enhance the way government does business.  These projects include:  an automated Service Request System, automated scheduling for park and recreation activities, a Library Research Service, a Development Project Early Assistance and Tracking Program, and a system for easy access to building information.

 All departments of the City, in cooperation with the Telecommunications Policy Office, should also develop a privatization agenda, looking for new projects or existing programs that could be transferred to the private sector, in a private/public cooperative to be delivered electronically.

 4.      ESTABLISH A FEDERAL / STATE FUNDING TASK FORCE

Approximately two billion dollars is currently available through federal and state programs designed to foster development of advanced information infrastructures and to encourage development of vital information programs and services.  San Diego institutions, both public and private, are well positioned to take advantage of these newly available funding opportunities.  

The City of San Diego should establish a Federal/State Funding task force to identify funding sources, to coordinate efforts of various entities– both public and private, business and academic– to secure funding, and serve as a clearinghouse for information on current and upcoming funding opportunities and assistance programs.  San Diego's recent successful application for designation as a Regional Technology Alliance makes this possible.

5.      IDENTIFY AND REWARD PRIVATE INITIATIVES

The Committee has also identified three basic areas in which the City can take an active role in fostering the development and success of selected pilot projects aimed at developing new mechanisms for the delivery of education, health care, and information services.  To this end, the City of San Diego should identify, assist and augment initiatives already begun within the community.  These initiatives include:



establishing "Life-Site Schools" to serve as community centers for the integrated delivery of health care, government and library services to link parents and their children to the schools in their community;
promoting development of a Health Care Utility, a private and public sector cooperative linking hospitals, clinics, physicians, laboratories and imaging centers for routine transfer of standardized patient information, and laboratory tests; and
launching "InfoSanDiego," a universally accessible, kiosk-based information service serving the broadest possible needs of San Diegans.
6.      CONTINUE THE STUDY EFFORT: THE ROLE OF TELECOMMUNICA-TIONS IN THE SAN DIEGO REGION

The International Center for Communications, in 1992, completed a report titled San Diego in the Global Village.  This report, which was jointly sponsored by the City of San Diego and the County of San Diego, generated widespread awareness of the potential use of telecommunications technology to change the way we live and work, and sufficient interest of the City and County and a number of municipalities to elevate the importance of telecommunications on the public policy agenda.  Indeed, Mayor Golding used this initial study effort as the basis for launching her Advisory Committee on the City of the Future.

But there is much work to be done.  The City should begin to evaluate alternative economic/market structures for the delivery of communications systems, and assess the ability of existing technology to meet the demands of the communications users now and in the future.  It is important to plan how local governments can participate in the provision of telecommunications and information tech-nology and how they can most appropriately and effectively coordinate their efforts with private providers of this technology.

 Subsequent studies should focus on the greater San Diego region and identify initiatives and policies to implement so that it can assume a leadership role in the coordinated use of ad­vanced communications technology.  Such a role would be a vital link to San Diego's eco­nomic and social development and its ability to continue providing services in an efficient and effective manner.

7.      MAXIMIZE SAN DIEGO'S HUMAN RESOURCES:  EDUCATION AND DEFENSE CONVERSION

Economic growth and wealth in the information age in San Diego will be measured less in terms of natural resources than in terms of human resources, the skill levels of regional workers, and the pipeline of future workers.

 More and more San Diegans, particularly those in the defense industry searching for employment opportunities, should have available comprehensive programs in telecommunications, information technology, database and software management and development, and related courses in construction engineering and systems development.

 Successful cities and regions of the 21st century will attract new industry, in part, because of their ability to execute broad employee development programs.  The Committee emphasizes the importance that "industry/academic alliances and partnerships be formed specifically to enhance the worker pipeline."

 8.      BLUR THE BORDERS

 One of the most disturbing problems about the development of community-wide systems of any kind are that they tend to stop at political boundaries, whether they be municipalities or international borders, such as the one San Diego has with Tijuana.  The movement of people and the conduct of business do not recognize these arbitrary geopolitical borders.

 The Committee strongly recommends that the City, playing the leadership role that it does, reach out to the greater San Diego community to engage the interest, excitement, and cooperation of the municipalities represented by the County, as well as to the City of Tijuana and its business and institutional representatives.  There are obvious political differences on some issues that separate one city from the other.  However, the development of a communications infrastructure to serve all of the people of the greater San Diego-Baja region should not be one of them.

FINDINGS OF THE SUBCOMMITTEES

The Committee worked to explore unique and innovative applications in health care, education and government and to develop specific recommendations for private/public joint ventures and for privatization of certain governmental functions or services.

As part of this undertaking, the Committee reached out to leaders in the public and private sectors– businessmen, professionals, and aca­demics– to serve on the following subcom­mittees:

Health Care
 Education
 Electronic Libraries
Art, Culture, Tourism, and Entertainment
Transportation and Telecommunications
 Emerging Industries
Economics, Government Organization and Decentralization
 Border Issues
Law and Regulation •   
These individuals brought their considerable expertise to bear on each of these areas, creat­ing reports which addressed issues they deemed pertinent to the creation of the City of the Future.  Summaries of these reports are in­cluded in the larger Report of the Advisory Committee on the City of the Future  and their full texts are included in the appendices of the report.

While the work of the subcommittees and all of their recommendations should be reviewed carefully, the Committee recognizes the limita­tions and constraints of government, the long term effort before us, and yet, the need for im­mediate action.

CONCLUSION

Telecommunications and information technol­ogy  are major factors in shaping and ensuring the success of San Diego as a "City of the Future."

As the world moves swiftly toward global in­terconnectivity, economic and social rewards will go to the cities and regions that organize themselves to participate effectively in the in­formation-led economy that is emerging. Those areas that do not choose to follow this path will be left behind.

There is a tendency to see communications is­sues in national and state terms, to the neglect of the pivotal role of the city or region, where responsibility for the whole community is fi­nally lodged. The city's purview encompasses all elements of the community to assure access to the business, professional, educational, health and social benefits that are the promise of a universally accessible, advanced commu­nications infrastructure.

San Diego has a choice: to let the future arrive as it will, shaped by events and circumstance, or to take on a leadership role and focus its public and private sector energies on the challenge of creating a vibrant and vital City of the Future.

What is a Smart Community?

What is a Smart Community?
A community that has made a conscious effort to use information technology to transform life and work within its region in significant and fundamental, rather than incremental, ways. This transformation is beneficial to the community and attracts local participation and cooperation among the community, government, industry, and education.

Smart Communities improve their citizens' lifestyles by increasing mobility (lessening the burden on the physical transportation infrastructure) and reducing environmental pollutants. Citizens also experience increased control over the demands placed upon their lives from the convenience offered by a community-wide information infrastructure. Smart Communities are also economically competitive in the new global economy and attract commerce as a result of an advanced telecommunications infrastructure.

Is that the same as a "Smart" city?
Not necessarily. A city is a legal entity; a unit of government. By "community" we mean a broader term that connotes a superset of a city (or other unit of local government) and encompasses the array of neighborhoods, organizations, groups and individuals that collectively constitute the community and give it a sense of place. The Smart Community definition also speakes to transformation of a community. This is to be distinguished from the incremental enhancement of a single community element, such as automation of a function of city government (e.g., issuing permits) or providing city information on an electronic bulletin board or kiosk.

Do you mean an electronic community?
An "electronic" community is a virtual community representing common interests linked by telecommunications technology and independent of place. We would not rule out a Smart Community effort that in indifferent to geopolitical boundaries (which are fairly arbitrary) but underlying the smart communities initiatives is a strong desire to improve quality of life for all inhabitants of a community. This implies some reasonable linkage of the concept of an "electronic" community with a specific physical place or set of places within the region.

What's this got to do with transportation? The information highway is different from transportation: transportation is about cars, trucks, buses and trains.
Transportation is about mobility: the movement of people, goods, information and services. As a component of a full transportation system, telecommunications can be substituted for some physical trips. For example, the movement of information and services to people achieves the same purpose as the movement of people to information and services.

But how does this relate to highways, ports and railroads? Products still have to get to the marketplace.
Of course. Transportation supports trade and commerce and the physical movement of products will remain important. Telecommunications mobility supplements the physical components of the transportation system, it does not supplant them. Not all trade transactions involve tangible products. Buyers and sellers of knowledge-based services do not necessarily need ports, trucks, warehouses and physical trading floors to complete their transactions. Buyers and sellers of physical products can also transact business electronically in a way that minimizes their need for physical movement. Telecommunications technologies bring buyers and sellers together in a virtual marketplace that is independent of place.

Won't the private sector make this happen? The invisible hand of the freemarket will ensure that people can access the full range of the information infrastructure.
The free market has a history of accentuating the gap between information haves and have-nots, at least in the short term. Unless communities act consciously and purposefully now to foster timely, universal access to information embodied by telecommunications technologies, the "digital divide" will only be exacerbated.

Wouldn't it be better to wait and see how the playing field for telecommunications technology develops?
The pace of change in telecommunications technology is extraordinary. Technology products are nearly obsolete even before being brought to market. It may be possible to stay abreast, but it is nearly impossible to catch up.

Aren't you a smart community once the technical infrastructure for telecommunications technology is in place?
No. Mere presence of technology does not equate to use. A comprehensive system is needed to make a community 'Smart.' Such a system not only includes the technical infrastructure components, but also accommodates users by providing the tools, training and support they need to accept and use technology and the institutional infrastructure that facilitates use.

Where are communities supposed to find the resources to support this new program? Resources are already stretched thin supporting existing programs.
There are probably not enough resources to support each desirable program individually. Collaborative use of resources across traditional programmatic lines has potential to leverage mutual gains for the collaborating programs. Communities should also ask themselves if they are making economic development investments aimed at accommodating the ways of the past or the opportunities of the future. In truth, now is truly the time to begin tasking the private/public partnerships we often talk about but rarely embrace.

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