A New Chicago Every Year’: PM’s Meet on Smart City Plans
January 5, 2015
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has promised to build a 100 smart cities in the country, met senior government officials today in one of a series of consultations on the project.
He asked officials to identify the basics of infrastructure, quality of life, and citizen-centric services that would be essential to these 21st century cities, which will be built as satellite towns of metropolises and by modernising existing mid-sized cities.
Officials made presentations on urban statistics with one presentation suggesting that “a new Chicago needs to be built every year.”
PM Modi has asked the Ministry of Urban Development to organise a workshop on this at the soonest, where officials would focus on reforms in laws related to urban development. The Prime Minister wants the smart city initiative to aim at improving the quality of urban governance, which would then strengthen the overall governance processes in the country.
The focus of the smart city – envisaged in a government note as one that would offer “decent living options to every resident” and provide a “very high quality of life comparable with any developed European city” – must not only be on the urban population, but also on the “urban-dependent” population, PM Modi has instructed.
India, the second most populated country on the planet, is projected to add another 404 million urban dwellers by 2050, the largest addition in the world, followed by China with 292 million, a UN report had said this year.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had told the parliament that “smart” cities are needed to accommodate the rising numbers, pointing to a burgeoning middle-class with “aspirations of better living standards”.
The urban development ministry’s concept note earlier this year had released preliminary ideas for the cities.
Source:NDTV
Development of 100 smart cities saw push in 2014
January 5, 2015
NEW DELHI: Development of 100 smart cities and housing for all by 2022 were the mantra of Ministry of Urban Development and Housing and Poverty Alleviation in 2014.
With the NDA government replacing the UPA in May, BJPveteran M Venkaiah Naidu assumed charge of the twin ministries giving a push to cleanliness and punctuality at office.
The year also witnessed launch of Swachh Bharat Mission and urban renewal of 500 cities for providing better amenities in urban areas. National Urban Renewal Mission for 500 cities replaced UPA government’s flagship programme Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), a massive city-based modernisation scheme launched in 2005 for seven years and then extended for two years.
Referring to cities as the “engine of growth”, UD Ministry aims to draw out growth path to ensure that they function efficiently because an effective engine is critical to economic development.
Speeding up urbanisation with the help of latest technology offers employment opportunities and also improves quality of life, Naidu has maintained.
Taking note of large-scale migration from rural areas to cities, the NDA government in its budget announced that “unless new cities are developed to accommodate burgeoning number of people, the existing cities would soon become unlivable”.
Keeping the need for rapid urbanisation in mind, the ministry chalked out an action plan to develop 100 smart cities as satellite towns of larger cities and by modernising the existing mid-sized cities.
These cities will be equipped with modern facilities like continuous power and water supply, easy healthcare, clean air, sanitation, security and entertainment among other parameters.
While the total budget allocation of the ministry was around Rs 7060 crore for 2014-15, Rs 500 crore was earmarked in the first phase for Smart City and heritage city projects alone.
Pursued under Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY), government has shortlisted 12 heritage cities – Amritsar, Ajmer, Mathura, Gaya, Kanchpuram, Vellankanni, Varanasi, Puri, Dwarka, Badami, Warrangal and Amrawati in the first phase.
Housing for all by 2022 was a major policy announcement by the Modi government in 2014.
Housing and Poverty Alleviation Ministry is mandated to formulate policy for providing affordable housing and also regulation and development for economic and caste census in the urban areas.
According to ministry data, there is a shortage of 18.7 million houses in urban areas at the beginning of the 12th Plan. The ministry aims to spend Rs 36,000 crore during the 12th Plan period to construct one million houses and provide interest subsidy for another one million houses.
In order to provide housing for all, the ministry wants to attract private investment in a big way. It has got about Rs 4000 crore in the current fiscal. With the aim of facilitating construction of houses in a proper way, it is bringing about a bill for regulation of the real estate sector keeping the consumers interest in mind.
The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, crucial for construction of affordable housing, is likely to be taken up for consideration in the next Budget Session of Parliament.
Naidu has emphasised that the bill, while seeking to promote housing activities, should aim at harmonising the concerns of consumers and real estate developers, rather than introducing strangulation in the name of regulation.
He has also maintained that the bill should promote transparency in disclosures by developers regarding to all relevant information about real estate projects by registering them with the proposed regulator.
Besides HUPA, ministries of Environment and Forests and Climate Change and Consumer Affairs are also involved in the finalisation of the bill.
Issues like protection of consumers’ interests and single window system for approval of real estate projects are being taken care in the bill.
There is a suggestion from the real estate sector to rename the Bill as Real Estate (Regulation and Promotion) Bill.
Source:Economic Times
Huawei listed as key smart city vendor
January 5, 2015
Huawei — a global ICT solutions provider — has recently been listed as one the world’s leading smart city technology vendors as part of a global study by Navigant Research.
The report cites that Huawei’s smart city strategy and execution were key areas of strength that makes Huawei a strong Contender in the smart city market.
In a bid to highlight the key players in the market, Navigant Research developed an assessment that offers an evaluation of vendors that have the capacity to support cities across a range of operational and infrastructural issues.
The report also assessed vendors who were able to deliver on large-scale projects spanning multiple city requirements.
The Navigant Research report, published as of Q4 2014, outlined the position of 16 of the world’s most prominent smart city vendors and where they place in the market.
The report maintains the growing importance of benchmarking vendors as city service providers go in search of technology providers who can help them deliver on their smart city vision.
Eric Woods, research drector, Navigant Research said: “Huawei’s appearance on the Smart City Suppliers Leaderboard reflects both its core role delivering communications and IT infrastructures for smart city initiatives and the growing ambitions of suppliers in this market.”
The director said: “The research is a reflection of the competition in the market as vendors are becoming much more serious about developing Smarty City initiatives. Governments and city leaders are looking to deepen their vendor relationships to plan for larger scale programs and deployments. We look forward to seeing the maturity of Smart Cities develop, where they can leverage the integration of technology into a strategic approach to sustainability, citizen well-being, and economic development.”
The vendor eco-system for smart city developments continues to expand at an increasing rate, which has created a complex and dynamic market, especially in the Middle East.
The smart city technology market is characterized by a diverse range of vendors spanning across a variety of sectors, which makes a comparison of their strengths and capabilities a challenging exercise.
Huawei was identified as a strong Contender on the Navigant Research Smart City Leaderboard by meeting a series of criteria that showed its ability to: deliver smart infrastructure IT and communications solutions, support cities across multiple operational and vertical sector infrastructure issues and use its global network in order to work with cities in multiple regions.
According to Navigant Research estimates, the global smart city technology market is expected to be worth more than $27.5 billion annually by 2023, compared to $8.8 billion in 2014.
This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) during that period of 13.5 percent.
Cumulative global investment in smart city technologies over the decade is expected to reach $174.4 billion.
The concept of the smart city covers a wide range of communities and governance models spanning from mega city regions to small towns and from historic urban centers to greenfield developments. Similarly, an incredible diversity of customers, suppliers, technologies, and requirements fall under the smart city banner.
Commenting on the announcement, Safder Nazir, regional vice president of Smart Cities & IoT at Huawei, Middle East, said: “It is encouraging to see that the industry is recognizing our Smart City capabilities a strong contender in this market. Following the announcement of Huawei’s Smart City ‘Center of Excellence’ in 2014, Huawei is in a position to provide the right expertise to transform regional smart city initiatives from concept to reality.”
A key player in supporting the development of the region’s smart city initiatives, Huawei believes that the future of smart cities lies in Mobile Broadband-based services.
The global ICT solutions provider recently launched a white paper in collaboration with IDC highlighting the enablement of smart cities with Mobile Broadband.
The white paper follows another recent IDC report unveiling figures that government spending in the Middle East and Africa is set to top $8.27 billion, an 11.4 percent increase as more regional governments expand their mobile government, online services and mobile broadband networks.
Huawei has been working on a range of Smart City initiatives across the globe including the deployment of an extensive range of Mobile Broadband technology such as 4G (LTE) for nearly 40 telecom operators in Asia, the Middle East, North America, Western Europe, Russia and Africa. Huawei’s value proposition for Smart Cities lies in its expertise in end-to-end network planning and the development of cutting-edge technologies.
These include mobile broadband infrastructure and communication technology to niche industry applications and data center innovations.
The company has participated in over 60 Smart City projects in more than 20 countries worldwide and cooperates with over 1,100 technology providers and 800 services and system integration firms.
Its recent acquisition of Neul in September 2014 reflects Huawei’s ambition to be at the leading edge of innovative communications solutions for cities.
Neul is a specialist IoT communications provider based in the United Kingdom that has been focusing on smart city applications.
Source: arab news
Das urges PM to include 6 J’khand cities in Smart City project
January 5, 2015
Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das today urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to include six cities of the state in the Centre’s ambitious 100 ‘Smart Cities’ programme.
Calling on Modi in New Delhi, Das said Ranchi, Dhanbad, Jamshedpur, Bokaro and Deoghar met the yardstick to become eligible for the scheme while Dumka should also be included as it is the second capital city of the state, an official release said here.
Das also called for Modi’s direction to the department concerned for release of Rs 400 crore under ‘Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojona’ to enable uninterrupted road work in a time-bound manner as it is an ambitious programme of the central government.
Das said utilisation certificates for 2013/14 and 2014/15 (till November, 2014) had been submitted to the Centre with a request for release of funds.
The release said that the Prime Minister assured Das to look into his request.
Modi also said Jharkhand is a resourceful state and it is the responsiblity of both the Centre and the state to ensure its development.
Source:Business Standard
Delhi will have country’s first ‘smart city’
January 5, 2015
NEW DELHI: Delhi will be developed into a “global city” and the country’s first ‘smart city’ will be set up here to decongest the national capital and facilitate it with all modern amenities, Union urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu said here on Saturday.
Delhi will be developed into a “global city” and the country’s first ‘smart city’ will be set up here to decongest the national capital and facilitate it with all modern amenities.
“We want to make Delhi a truly global city, having all latest and modern amenities and facilities that any other global city like London or San Francisco has. We want to have world-class entertainment venues like Disneyland or Universal Studios here,” Naidu said.
Source:Times Of India
“Smart” Cities and the Urban Digital Revolution
January 5, 2015
Smog, sewage and congestion are three of the hallmarks of contemporary urban living. But these downsides to city living are gradually becoming things of the past. City planners are finding new ways to address these inefficiencies, leveraging connected technology to create smarter hubs that work for city dwellers.
Welcome to the era of “smart” cities. Advances in wireless sensor systems, information and communication technology (ICT), and infrastructure allow cities to collect and curate huge amounts of data capable of sustaining and improving urban life thanks to the new and ever-growing web of connected technology: The Internet of Things (IoT).
Last year, Los Angeles became the first city in the world to synchronize its traffic lights — all 4,500 of them — reducing traffic time on major LA corridors by about 12 percent, according to the city’s Department of Transportation. In Singapore, city authorities aretesting smart systems for managing parking and waste disposal to adjust to daily and weekly patterns. In New York City, mobile air pollution monitors help city leaders pinpoint those neighborhoods most affected by smog and pollutants, so residents can modify their commuting paths and preferred modes of transportation to avoid exposure to higher levels of pollution.
And cities across the U.S. — including Chicago, Seattle and Washington, D.C. — are hiring chief technology officers to oversee broad implementation of digital systems and technologies. As more and more city functions evolve from analog to digital, it makes sense for municipalities to put the improvement, functionality and security of those systems into one department. These city CTOs will quickly become indispensable cabinet positions.
What does it take for a city to earn the “smart” moniker?
So what does it take for a city to earn the “smart” moniker? Smart cities around the globe have many differences but importantly they share a few common traits. These cities invest in infrastructure and people in ways that lead to a more connected, better-informed and more-efficient environment. The dynamic use of knowledge to improve both the utilization of scarce resources and a higher quality of life for its citizens is the hallmark of a smart city.
Since the first Industrial Revolutions fueled the explosion in urban population growth, municipal governments have looked for ways to efficiently run services for densely located networks of people. The challenges of urban life have historically produced results that are less than adequate. But as sensors become more affordable and more ubiquitous, city officials have access to systems that their predecessors could never have imagined. Today, sensors are being used to monitor and dynamically adjust important public services, from parking availability to public transportation to snow removal to security.
IoT promises to put cities across the globe on the fast track to becoming “smart.” But we’re not there quite yet. The evolution of IoT involves three distinct phases. First, physical objects facilitate access to digital information. Second, physical objects are embedded with digital sensors to capture and transmit relevant information. And finally, physical objects receive digital prompts and cues which then alter the state of the physical object. This final stage will result in a seamless physical-digital sphere that holds tremendous promise in the building of smart cities.
As a society, we’re barely in the middle of phase one — most of our physical objects are not yet connected, though connection alone is not enough. Cities must also have the infrastructure for efficient data transactions: How information flows from Point A to Point B. Indeed, all city services are based on a calculation of where to expend precious resources. The more data available for these calculations, the more sophisticated and tailored they become. An example, driverless cars alone won’t solve a city’s traffic problems — but driverless cars that signal street sensors will give city officials the appropriate data to improve traffic patterns. This will require city governments to work in tandem with private companies, whether they manufacture cars or operate garbage dumps.
The challenges facing cities on the path to being “smart” are large and varied. It will require a new way of thinking — akin to mastering a new language. Nevertheless, modern cities everywhere are moving in one inexorable direction: Toward a future where city governance and urban living will be as connected as the functions on your smartphone.
Shawn DuBravac is the chief economist of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and the author of the forthcoming book “Digital Destiny: How the New Age of Data Will Transform the Way We Work, Live and Communicate.” Follow him @ShawnDubravac.
Source:Re/code
Smart cities’ draft note highlights parking needs
January 5, 2015
Pune: Among the benchmarks for smart cities, besides an efficient public transport, water supply, electricity, and wi-fi connectivity, there is also a need for civic bodies to formulate building and parking standards.
A draft note for ‘smart cities scheme’ of the union urban development ministry dwells on the pillars of institutional infrastructure including governance, physical, social and economic amenities, and how the centre of attention for each of them should be the citizen.
The note observes that the first pillar of institutional infrastructure including governance itself, the current structures do not focus on citizen participation. “People do not get the feel of ownership of city. There is a need for involving citizens in decision-making processes. Procedures are cumbersome and citizens often find it difficult to secure public services they seek,” it says.
Citing an example, the ministry says that when it comes to handling the basic traffic and transportation system, issues of parking arrangements, traffic lights, street lights, and fleet of buses are handled by various departments. It makes the situation more complex for the citizens.
While the Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad municipal corporations as well as the mayors and elected representatives have demanded the inclusion of Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad into smart cities’ plan, NGOs have often complained to the civic bodies that citizens are not taken into confidence and have no participation in civic issues including the transportation system where more flyovers and subways are being built instead of improving the public transport system.
Like other cities, Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad can learn from the draft note, say experts. The note says that many policies governing urban areas are old and need to be reviewed in view of changing needs of the city. It says that provisions like parking space requirements, building bylaws are archaic and do not meet the demand for the present-day requirements.
“Rapid urbanization of cities has resulted in unplanned development and urban sprawl. Cities are marred by congested central business districts and are deteriorating at the core. While planning smart cities, emphasis needs to be given on planned development and decongestion of CBDs,” the ministry says.
The trend of urbanization that is seen in the country over the last few decades will continue for some more time, says the ministry. While the urban population is currently around 31% of the total population, it contributes over 60% of the country’s GDP.
It is projected that urban areas will contribute nearly 75% of the national GDP in the next 15 years. Reforms in how cities are governed are necessary as high quality governance, with a strong citizen say in decision making, is critical for smart cities, the note adds.
Source: Times of India
Smart cities: Gujarat’s Dholera zone sets pace for the flagship programme in new year
January 5, 2015
Narendra Modi government is kicking off its ambitious smart cities programme along the Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor (DMIC) leg that is located in Gujarat.
The tendering process for the Dholera special investment region in Gujarat is to be launched shortly, inviting investments worth close to Rs 3,000 crore for building trunk infrastructure on the 22.5 square km.
The smart city close to Ahmedabad will cover a route length of 920 km on the corridor, of which 154 km will be developed in the first phase. It will be followed by three others by March. The 2,700-km DMIC was sanctioned in 2007.
Prime Minister Modi has announced 100 smart cities, some of these along industrial corridors, as it seeks to turn India into a global manufacturing hub as part of its Make in India initiative.”We are set to roll out four smart industrial cities by March, inviting bids from all across the globe. We have held several meetings with various governments and investors from different countries in the past many months including Germany, the UK, US, South Korea, etc,” said Talleen Kumar, CEO of DMIC Development Corp.
The government has floated requests for qualification (RFQ) for the ‘roads and utilities’ project at Dholera on the outskirts of Ahmedabad. After this closes by mid-January, requests for proposal will be invited after approval by the DMIC Trust and the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA). All investment proposals exceedingRs 1,200 crore require CCEA approval.
The other trunk infrastructure schemes for which bids will be sought include a drinking water supply system, and adminis trative centre along with water and sewage treatment plants.
Tendering is also being finalised for integrated industrial townships in Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh and Vikram Udyogpuri in Madhya Pradesh apart from the Shendra-Bidkin Industrial Park in Maharashtra for a rollout in the next two months.
“In Greater Noida, 747 acres have already been transferred to the special purpose vehicle. For the 84 square km Shendra-Bidkin industrial park, we will begin with inviting bids for the Shendra region first,” Kumar said.
Of the seven cities being developed in the first phase of the DMIC project, master planning for six is complete.
In a bid to facilitate and fast track Japanese investment proposals, the department of industrial policy and promotion has also set up a special management team known as Japan Plus, which comprises officials of both governments.
This is the right perspective!!
January 5, 2015
The Narendra Modi-led BJP government wants to create 100 smart cities, and every country is falling over itself to be a part of this opportunity. First of all, the government will not ‘create’ these cities. The state governments have been asked to recommend a list of cities that they want to be converted into ‘smart cities’.
The ministry of urban development has already started working on the details of how these smart cities will work. The trouble is that ‘smart city’ is a marketing concept, first created by technology companies wanting to sell their sensors, software and hardware. Also, the definition of a smart city is very vague and the government does not seem to be making any effort in clarifying it. Thirdly, it does not really capture what inhabitants in crowded, populous and rapidly expanding cities need.
Why is a definition so important if the government means well. It is important as Adam Greenfield, fellow at LSE Cities, says: “It is worth thinking carefully as it is a $114 billion or Rs 7 lakh crore issue.” This is what these cities will need over a 20-year period, according to a government committee estimate. Greenfield has been arguing against the concept of a smart city for a long time, and has even written a book on the issue.
What do we need?
City-dwellers need cities which are liveable. Whether they are smart or intelligent will not really matter as quality of life is something which is most important. It is also deteriorating the fastest in Indian cities. Whether they generate data about mobility, urban land use, and governance is important, but it is not the sole purpose for upgrading these cities.
The concept of liveable cities has lately been getting acceptance in Europe as city planners and citizens have started working together. It is linked to physical forms like parks and green spaces. For others, it is about the cultural milieu that the city can provide. A liveable city is not possible if does not offer career opportunities to succeed; it needs to have economic dynamism. This is possible if it also offers reasonable safety within which to raise a family.
From a planning perspective, liveability is linked to sustainability as it is to consumer resources like food, water, energy and air. And it generates carbon and other gases along with waste in enormous quantity. This determines the spatial spread of the city as distribution system for supplying a city with food and power travel distances. For example, take a city like Indore which is growing rapidly, but has no natural water resource. It is pumped into the city from 60 km away. On an average, electricity transmission travels 200 miles and food travels 1,200 miles in the US, according to a Weber and Matthews study on the impact of cities.
These consumption patterns arising out of location increase the energy consumption requirement for a city, especially in a country like India, where due to paucity of power, 20 gigawatt is generated using liquid fuel. This includes diesel engines used to generate power or pulling out water from deep aquifers. This is not sustainable and unfortunately, not even part of the discussion on smart cities.
One of the principles behind a liveable city is that it is not based on fossil fuels or commuting as a way of life. Planning such a city means that the local government uses a thumb rule that every citizen can walk for his basic requirement. Education for children, parks or open spaces for leisure and play, basic health care, and entertainment are all within walking distance.
The current model of city planning is based on an outdated Le Corbusier concept that the city needs to be flat. Indian planners still believe that Chandigarh is the best city as it was planned by Corbusier, but it is not a smart city because you need a car to live in such a city. And dependence on a car means depending upon fast-depleting fossil fuels; it means commute as a part of daily life.
While small initiatives like Raahgiri are catching people’s attention as they reclaim the streets from cars for a few hours every week, what if it was part of a city’s design? That the streets belonged to people, and not to cars? A fundamental shift in even the way permissions are given for development and integration of public transportation has to be part of city planning. Then only can a city be livable; it has to be embedded in its planning and not in its sensors.
Now, the bigger issue here is that none of the smart cities are new; the government is looking at reinventing existing cities into smart ones. For instance, Ujjain, one of the cities to be built as a smart city, is a sleepy, religious tourism-dependent city in Madhya Pradesh. Where will the policymakers start from? Will they change the nature of the city, will they build on existing economic drivers of the city? One of the purposes of building a smart city is to attract people to live there, and people will go where there are opportunities. The softer aspect of a city that invites diversity also encourages creativity and sustainability in the long run as several studies like this from Harvard have shown.
Therefore, it will be smarter if we build or focus on liveable cities rather than smart ones.
CONGESTION MANAGEMENT : Some Thoughts
December 10, 2014
In a modern busy metropolis, traffic congestion is a major hurdle in our journey to create a Smart City that everyone is talking about. A congestion management plan must take into consideration all relevant factors like the ever-exploding vehicle population on the road, geometry of the city roads, travel needs of citizens, and the needs of various administering authorities having jurisdiction in parts or whole of the city.
No single approach can be best-suited for managing congestion. In event of mismatch or clash of jurisdictions, divergent or conflicting visions of the decision-making authorities, or ideological differences between and the availability and conditioning of external funds, a consensus-based approach scores over the conventional vision or plan-based approach, effective stakeholder-collaboration often delivers.
It is important to bear in mind that a consensus-based approach often leads to delay and inaction unless such consensus can be reached quickly and in a sustainable manner. By contrast, a plan-based approach is heavily dependent on professional planners, and the needs of some stakeholders including bureaucrats and politicians could have been missed or ignored. This approach is also subjective in that the absence from the office of the person with the vision could derail the process altogether.
A key enabler in a consensus-based approach is the formulation of the strategy through consensus, commitment and public support for a better understanding of congestion problems, and must lead to creation of innovative solutions with public support and acceptability. Taking concerns and objections of the public into account early in the implementation phase often proves cost-effective in the long run. Such an approach can effectively stem breakdowns in the process.
To be honest to ourselves, we must accept that there are no “miracle” solutions – long-term congestion outcomes will only be delivered through a well-framed process that addresses congestion in all its aspects at the metropolitan level in ways that include:
• Understanding what congestion is and how it affects the urban region.
• Developing and monitoring relevant congestion indicators.
• Releasing existing capacity or creating additional capacity using new infrastructure
• Managing demand for road and parking space consistent with a shared vision on how the city should develop.
The success or failure that cities experience in tackling congestion will ultimately depend on how well they organize themselves to carry out the task they set for themselves. The ability of policy makers and their collaborators to define correct objectives is thus fundamental for congestion management, and is a critical stepping stone for achieving a Smart City status
By Sudipto Chakarvaty