Many people I know have a rather dystopian view of local goverment, be it county or city. They see Urban Cenmters as a dirty, cold, lifeless and soleless places where the environment is designed to “sick the life” out of the population, and people are just getting by and not thriving. Personally, I walk the line between agreeing with them and disagreeing with them at the same time. I see the problems, but more importantly, I see solutions. I see Urban Centers of all sizes, bit and yes, small, facing the same issues; decaying infrastructure, aging building, the disconnection of communities, limited common space, closing business, and more. Many Urban Cities focus on the “old ways” of bring a City to life, mainly because that is all they know, only to see them not working any more. They see revitalization as the answer. But revitalization, without reimaging, will never work. So, how does one unite revitalization and reimagining and bring new life to a dying Urban City? I believe the answer is found in the principles and concepts of the Smart City Movement.
Let’s start by defining a Smart City. While there’s no commonly accepted definition, a consensus seems to be forming around an urban area where technology [ The Internet of Things, IoT, and Artificial Intelligence, AI] along with big data collection, as well as a sustainable and efficient City operations, to enhance infrastructure and share information with the public and promote a sustainable living experience. Collecting data from traffic management systems, energy-efficient buildings, common community places, and public services [Police, Fire and Rescue, e.g.] and to leverage the data collected for better decision-making.
The Smart City Movement requires Cities to take a radical reimaging of the Urban infrastructure. A Smart City is not about using technology, it’s about integrating the right technology and digital tools to physical infrastructure, common spaces, businesses, and more to improve the lives of all residents and visitors. The key is to design the Urban City to be safer and interconnected. The idea is to rethink how environment sustainability, economic development and social interactions converge. The primary focus to create a livable, sustainable, and resilient environment for all.
While many Uban Cities are starting to look deeper into the Smart City Movement, concern around the collecting and analyzing large data raised questions over surveillance, particularly over predictive policing, and the potential invasion of privacy. These concerns can be address with community involvement. Concerns over equal access to individuals with differet abilities also need to be addressed.
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