IEEMA applauds GOI’s ambitious project on smart city development

September 29, 2014

Indian Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers’ Association in its 67th AGM and Annual Convention in Mumbai applauded the vision of Government of India’s ambitious and bold project on 100 Smart Cities. The scale of this project transcends the ‘Golden Quadrilateral’ and ‘Connecting the Rivers’ projects, said IEEMA.

On the occasion, Venkaiah Naidu, Union minister of urban development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Parliamentary Affairs said “IEEMA is preparing to have two shows in January 2015 on up to 11 KV and intelligent usage of electricity. I would like to see what strength Indian industry has to be able to partner and bring value to 100 Smart Cities Project,” he said.

As per IEEMA, the ‘100 Smart Cities Project’ will entail a huge opportunity for the entire industry across —urban development, power, rural infrastructure development, municipality, hospitals, education opportunities and the entire ecosystem of allied industries. “It is a given that the CEOs of the industry have a big role to play, in planning and deciding the way forward to respond to this project which will unravel immense opportunities of growth in the coming few years”, said IEEMA.

Vishnu Agarwal, Founder and CMD of Technical Associates Ltd, a Lucknow based organization has been appointed as the 55th president of IEEMA. Agarwal in his address said that IEEMA is looking ahead to partner with the Government on the Smart Cities project which will go a long way to enhancing quality of urban life, and also the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana will provide a huge impetus to strengthen the transmission and distribution infrastructure in rural areas.

At present, India has already lost about 35percent market share due to import of sub quality Chinese electrical equipment. “Significant under-utilisation of installed domestic capacity has resulted in loss of employment of qualified Indian engineers, technicians, workers, etc. There is a dire need of presenting a roadmap and addressing the balance of trade which is grossly tilted currently in China’s favour”, said the association.

IEEMA is the first ISO certified industry association in India with 800 member organisations encompassing the complete value chain in power generation, transmission and distribution equipment. IEEMA members have contributed to more than 90 percent of the power equipment installed in India. The Indian electrical equipment industry size in 2012-13 was in excess of USD 24 billion, with exports of USD 5 billion.

Source:Times of India

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under About, Smart City

The long and short of what we know about Modi’s 100 smart cities

September 27, 2014

The laundry list of Rs 100 crore projects rattled off by finance minister Arun Jaitley during the budget speech might have surprised people, but there was one mention of 100 that was much less surprising: smart cities.

The grandiose promise of building 100 smart cities has been part of Modi’s acche din vision from the outset, and it would have been surprising if the budget had not made some mention of it.

In the event, Jaitley did promise 100 cities to be built for what the Bharatiya Janata Party is calling the neo-middle class – those who have just emerged from above the poverty line and are striving to ensure they remain there.

Less promising was the amount he allocated to the project: Rs 7,060 crore, which is a little over Rs 70 crore per city. As with the Rs 100 crore club, the finance minister has insisted that this is simply seed money to get the projects going and more will be allocated once things have moved forward.

What are smart cities?
There’s no simple definition for smart cities. The term encompasses a vision of an urban space that is ecologically friendly, technologically integrated and meticulously planned, with a particular reliance on the use of information technology to improve efficiency.

The Smart Cities Council, an industry-backed outfit that advocates the concept in India, describes them as cities that leverage data gathered from smart sensors through a smart grid to create a city that is livable, workable and sustainable.

What is smart about them?
According to the Smart Cities Council, all the data that is collected from sensors – electricity, gas, water, traffic and other government analytics – is carefully compiled and integrated into a smart grid and then fed into computers that can focus on making the city as efficient as possible.

This allows authorities to have real-time information about the city around them, and allows computers to attempt “perfect operations”, such as balancing supply and demand on electricity networks, synchronising traffic signals for peak usage, and optimising energy networks.

Why do we need them?
India’s is urbanising at an unprecedented rate, so much that estimates suggest nearly 600 million of Indians will be living in cities by 2030, up from 290 million as reported in the 2001 census.

Alongside the hordes of Indians go the jobs and the money as well: a McKinsey Global Institute study estimated that cities would generate 70% of the new jobs created by 2030, produce more than 70% of the Indian gross domestic product and drive a fourfold increase in per capita incomes across the country.

“The cost of not paying attention to India’s cities is enormous,” the MGI report said. “The speed of urbanisation poses an unprecedented managerial and policy challenge – yet India has barely engaged in a national discussion about how to handle the seismic shift in the makeup of the nation.”

Are they going to be new cities?
In his budget speech, Jaitley listed out exactly why the government believes it needs to be spending money on 100 smart cities. He claimed that “unless new cities are developed to accommodate the burgeoning number of people, the existing cities would soon become unlivable.”

That said, he also made it clear that the Rs 7,060 crore allocation would not all go into setting up brand new cities. Instead, the aim is to build satellite towns near existing urban areas on the smart city template, upgrade existing mid-sized cities, and to build settlements along industrial corridors.

Which cities have been picked out?
At the moment 100 cities remains a tentative figure, with much still to be pinned down. The budget speech only officially identified cities along the Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Master Plan, which covers seven states. Although they weren’t named in the budget, seven cities have also been named along the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, some which would overlap with the Amritsar-Kolkata plan.

Officially, the budget only pointed out three cities in the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor: Ponneri in Tamil Nadu, Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Tumkur in Karnataka.

What about those cities that don’t make the cut?
At a meeting regarding the smart cities in June, the urban development ministry secretary said that the focus will not be just 100 cities but all urban areas across the country. “There exists no valid reason to leave the 101st city in the process of development,” he said.

The secretary, Sudhir Krishna, has asked the National Institute of Urban Affairs to work on the smart city project, based on a framework that covers overall smartness and sustainability. For now, though, the focus will be on a much smaller number of cities in states where conditions are amenable before the government even attempts to look at expanding to cover 100 urban areas.

Do we have any smart cities already (and who is building them)?
A quick Google search for India’s “first smart city” produces more than 70,000 results, and many of them lead to different places. In Bangalore, Cisco is working to set up a smart grid-based Education City, where all the utilities will be integrated with data.

Outside Mumbai, the Lodha group has given IBM a contract to build all data systems in their Palava city project. Kochi has a special economic zone that seeks to replicate Dubai’s smart city project. Gujarat has two projects, the Dholera urban area, which is part of the Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor, and the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, both of which have problems but are being touted as examples that could be scaled up across the country.

Who will pay for them?
Rs 70 crore per city will clearly not be enough, and even if more is added, it’s unlikely the government will have the resources to pay for the cities. In the budget, the government announced that it was relaxing norms for foreign direct investment to make it easier for outside companies to invest in smart cities. In addition, India has spoken to France, Japan and Singapore about collaborating on the projects.

Source:Scroll.in

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under About, Smart City

‘Smart homes can be as popular as smart phones in India’

September 27, 2014

The new buzz word in town is ‘Smart’, from smart homes to smart cities. Most of us have idealised this concept and while much of the Indian public is receptive to the idea, it is still an emerging concept and there are doubts amidst enthusiasm as to whether this concept is here to stay. In a conversation with Vishal Dhar, co-founder and president, marketing at iYogi, Magicbricks attempts to arrive at the feasibility of smart homes in India-

Smart Homes to capture a sizeable market share

Smart Homes are all about creating a better experience for home owners resulting in a home that’s secure, energy efficient and easier to manage. This would improve the overall quality of life. Each of these is an important issue for Indian home owners and therefore smart homes are definitely needed, and their adoption across different categories will grow. Majority (8 out of 10) of developers have expressed a keen interest in adding Smart Homes to their portfolio in the near future.

Smart Homes and pricing in the wake of Housing for All and affordability

Today, having a smart home costs between 5 and 10 per cent of the construction cost – which is what makes it prohibitive and a dream for most people. New-age technology has made it possible for smart home solutions to fit any pocket or home size. For instance today, dedicated companies can help real estate developers create a smart home for as little as 1 per cent of the total construction cost. As awareness and demand for smart homes increases, the economics will make sense and costs will come down further.

Smart homes more than just hype

The popularity of any product or category is dependent on different factors. The first is its value for target users, combined with availability and price. Today, Android and Windows phones are available across price points, leading to the huge adoption of smart phones. Not just that, it is also the interesting applications that are being developed keeping different user needs in mind. Home automation systems will pick up steam as more locally relevant applications and use cases are developed and more vendors start innovating and creating interesting products at different price points. This, along with a concerted effort to create greater awareness about the benefits of Smart Homes, will ensure that Smart Homes become as popular as smart phones at some point in the future.

India is ready for smart homes

Connected homes are no longer a futuristic concept. Cross-device compatibility, wireless connectivity, voice commands, smart monitoring are a few common features found in today’s Smart Home appliances including refrigerators, washing machines, ACs and home security systems. Technology adoption in India is growing at a fast pace and Smart Homes will not be left behind. In fact, according to the International Data Corporation, India is currently among the fastest growing smart phone markets in Asia Pacific and has seen a 31 per cent sales growth in the first quarter of 2014, even higher than China. So in a way, technological dependence is already here.

With a growing middle class, rise in disposable incomes and growth of nuclear families, Indians are willing to spend extra for safety, security, comfort and style and it is only a matter of time before home automation systems also become common.

Source:Magic Bricks

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under About, Smart City

‘Smart cities’ to be identified before Budget: Venkaiah Naidu

September 27, 2014

Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu addressing the National Conclave of States/UTs on Smart Cities in New Delhi on Friday.

The Centre will start identifying urban areas which can be transformed into “smart cities”, before the Budget, Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu said here on Monday.

The government is currently holding consultations with all stakeholders including state governments, local bodies and those keen on developing smart cities.

“I have held consultation with my state counterparts and taken them into confidence. Now we are at the advance stage of finalising the contours of the smart cities and by November we expect the process to be completed…and expect to identify the cities before the Budget,” Naidu, who was in town today for the Ieema annual convention, told reporters.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has envisaged developing 100 smart cities by 2022. The Finance Ministry has allocated Rs 7,060 crore for developing these cities as well, which will replace the present flagship urban renewal scheme JNNURM.

“I am planning to complete the process of consultation and finalisation of the contours by end of November and take them to the Expenditure Finance Committee and then to Cabinet. Then from the beginning of the year, roll out will begin,” he said.

“We plan to have at least 2-3 smart cities in each state,” he said.

Emphasising the need for taking all the stakeholders on board, he said, “You have to take the states and urban local bodies into confidence. Then you need support from different sectors and you need finances, which need a lot of consultations. We have finalised PPP model for developing smart cities.”

Naidu further said there is an increased interest from other countries to participate in this project. “I have held consultations with a lot of foreign delegations who are interested in participating in this project. Japan is keen to cooperate to transform Varanasi into a smart city. Similarly, a former Singaporean Prime Minister has also met me and expressed interest in constructing a new capital for Andhra, which I want to make into a smart city,” he said.

He said he will visit cities like Oklahoma and Seoul to understand their models.

However, he noted that creating a smart city is not an easy task. “It is not easy to construct a smart city overnight without light and basic amenities. We need to prepare habitat with a smart leadership. Further, there is a need to provide facilities for transport, water, disposal of waste, traffic security management, education, entertainment and employment opportunities, among others. All these things will take time,” he said.

“In this entire process, having 24×7 power supply will be critical. A city cannot be smart if there is no power. Therefore, there is a need to create proper transmission and distribution system to ensure uninterrupted supply of electricity,” Naidu added.

Source:Indian Express

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under About, Indian Govt, Smart City

Google to roll out initiatives to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Digital India

September 26, 2014

Google will run a number of campaigns as part of the Government of India’s Digital India program
In support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision towards a Digital India, Google India, is delighted to announce some key initiatives that will help realize this dream of the Prime Minister. Time and again, including his recent speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort, the Prime Minister has called for moving towards a Digital India, where technology becomes the foundation of good governance and India moves towards a knowledge economy based on the Mantra of ‘IT (Information Technology) + IT (Indian Talent) = IT (India’s Tomorrow). As part of supporting the Prime Minister’s vision, Google will run a number of campaigns as part of the Government of India’s Digital India program.

The highlights are: ● MyGov, the citizen engagement platform of the Government and Google are collaborating to launch a nationwide contest to develop a mobile app for the PM’s Office. The mobile app will bring the PMO to every citizen and the contest will showcase how Indians can build a world class app ● Google India will continue to build a vibrant language ecosystem online and help the Government transition into the increasingly ‘mobile’ India. ● Programs such as Helping Women get Online, getting Indian SMEs Online and showcasing India’s rich heritage and culture online will further promote the digital empowerment of citizens. ● Additionally, to encourage digital literacy and Internet safety, Google is also introducing curriculums for schools, officials and elected representatives. RS Sharma, Secretary of the Department of Information Technology said “The Digital India Program has been launched with the vision of transforming India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. It can truly transform India and bring it on par with other developed countries. I’m happy Google is coming forward to roll out initiatives that will contribute to the Digital India vision. I’m sure others will come forward and join this moment.”

Rajan Anandan, Vice President and Managing Director, Google India said “India is already home to the 3rd largest number of internet users globally with 245 million users as of June 2014. We are on track to become the 2nd largest user market by 2015 and a 500 million-user market by 2016. Yet, there are more than a billion people who will need to be brought online for India to realize the vision of a digitally connected, knowledge economy. Prime Minister Modi’s Digital India program will play a transformational role in achieving this, and we are excited to be making a meaningful contribution by rolling out several initiatives in collaboration with the Government of India.”

Google is working with the Department of Information Technology and other State Governments to develop these initiatives. The company also welcomes the Prime Minister’s vision of enhancing information highways, as part of the Digital India program. The Prime Minister’s idea of M-Governance for mobile governance has the potential to revolutionize service delivery and provide good governance to people across the length and breadth of India.

Source: Information week

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under About, Government (Govt), Smart City

Cisco unveils smart city model for Digital India

September 26, 2014

IOT powered Globalisation East campus shows how citizens can live, work, play and learn in a Digital India

Cisco demonstrated how a future smart city would look like in its campus in Bangalore on Tuesday. Spread over 2.6 million square feet, and designed as a campus-as-a-city for thousands of Cisco employees to work, play and learn, the model city showcased all the possible city utilities which can be availed in a smart city powered by IOT.

As part of the inauguration, Cisco demonstrated the possibilities of the government’s Digital India program where infrastructure would be offered as a utility to every citizen, governance and services would be on demand and citizens would be digitally empowered. Incorporating real time, online and mobile platforms the model illustrated how intelligent networks could digitally enable Indian citizens.

Cisco in association with ELCIA (Electronics City Industry Association) is building the smart city in Bangalore’s Electronic City. The collaboration has already identified 5-km stretch where street lighting, parking, traffic and water management will be controlled centrally through intelligent sensors, information systems and the Internet to improve the quality and efficiency of civic amenities in the area. This project will form the proof-of-concept for a smart city early next year.

Cisco has already built smart cities in Barcelona, Spain and Canberra, Australia. The program highlighted how Cisco and Barcelona council have helped transform the city into a blueprint for sustainable urban development. Canberra, the capital of Australia described the role of Cisco’s technologies in achieving the city’s digital strategy.

Speaking about the hurdles and challenges of building a smart city in India, Srivatsa Krishna, IAS & Secretary to the Government Dept. Of Information Technology, Biotechnology and Science & Technology, said, “Building a smart city in Bangalore is not about selling more routers and switches. Cisco has to come up with economical, cost-effective and affordable smart city concept which can be availed by every Indian.” Cisco initially thought of making the parking lots in Bangalore smart, however the concept did not work out due to several reasons.

Anil Menon, President, Deputy Chief Globalization Officer, Cisco said, “When we build a smart concept for any city we look at five parameters which includes government regulations, cost-effectiveness, scalability, profitability and sustainability.” According to Menon, the absence of these parameters made Cisco not to build the smart parking space in Bangalore. However, with changing times Cisco hopes to be able to build smart city in Bangalore in the coming days

Source:Information week

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under About, Articles, Smart City

France indicates interest to help make Nagpur a smart city

September 23, 2014

France has evinced interest in partnering with Nagpur to make it a ‘smart city’.

This was indicated by French Consul General for Western India Jean Raphael Peytregnet, who is on his two-day visit to Nagpur.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced plans to create 100 smart cities across the country and France has offered its expertise, men, and material in urban development to build “new age” cities and plans to send a visiting team of prominent architects to Nagpur to “explore possibilities”.

Accompanied by the French Trade Commissioner of Consulate General Matthieu Lefort, Peytregnet said that the basic objective would be to “explore possibilities” of co-operation in urban development.

Since each city has a different requirement, there is nothing specific in mind, though tailor-made solutions could be offered, he said.

Peytregnet said that New Delhi would host a convention of architects later in November, when a French team would eventually visit Nagpur.

Apart from exploring options in Mumbai and the national capital, they will also be urged to visit other Indian cities, he said.

“There is immense scope for developing modern infrastructure in India. We will be calling on officials of various municipalities and civic bodies across the country to look for tie-ups. Nagpur being in the heart of the country is very much on our mind,” he said.

The Consul General met Nagpur Mayor Pravin Datke, his deputy Munna Pokulwar, Municipal Commissioner Shyam Wardhane and past mayor Anil Sole to discuss issues related to the ‘smart city’ concept.

Lefort said there is also a focus on sectors like consumer goods, agriculture, automobiles, avionics and also tourism.

Current investment by French companies in India stands at 15 billion Euros as against Indian investment in France which is at only 300 million Euros. The French government is keen to increase the figure by promoting Indian business proposals, he said.

Besides developing Nagpur into a ‘smart city’, the diplomats also asserted that they are exploring possibilities of investments in the Multi Modal International Passenger and Cargo Hub (MIHAN) in the city and were satisfied with the availability of space, good connectivity, infrastructure, power, manpower, incentives and industrial environment in MIHAN.

Both the diplomats also met office bearers of two prominent NGOs namely Vidarbha Industries Association (VIA) and Vidarbha Economic Development Council (VED) during their two-day stay in the city.

While interactions with VED, the top diplomat said that he would like more Indian students to study in France, especially because universities in France would now teach in English.

Source:India Today

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under About, Smart City

Agra to become smart city with Japanese aid

September 23, 2014

It may not have an influential member of parliament like Narendra Modi in its kitty, but when it comes to reaping the fruits of its decades old relations with Japan, Agra is not willing to fall short of Varanasi in attracting Japanese investments.

The home to the first post-WWII Leprosy research center in Asia established by the Japanese government, Agra also plays a gracious host to over 30 thousand Japanese tourists every year, who come to visit the Taj Mahal and the JALMA institute for Leprosy Research that had been established by a fellow countryman Dr. M Miyazaki.

Now, the Japanese government is preparing a detailed roadmap to invest in Agra, to develop it into a Smart City. A delegation of 100 Japanese experts will be arriving in Agra in December to study the city’s infrastructure and sign the necessary MOUs for the city’s transformation.

Talking to India Today, local industrialist and exporter Puran Dawar, who was a part of the six-member delegation of Agra industrialists who went to Japan with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said that the delegation presented a brief outline of the developments that could be made possible in Agra with minimum investment before the Mayor of Kyoto Daisaku Kadokawa.

Upon viewing the presentation, the Mayor agreed to send a delegation of experts to Agra who will prepare a study report on how to develop Agra into a smart city, while preserving its heritage.

He said that the government of Hiroshima has also agreed to develop joint ventures with the industrialists of India and if things kept going the way they were, Agra could soon be on the focal point of pollution-free industrial development as visualized by the Japanese government. Dawar said that the Japanese were made aware of the fact the manpower in India is a lot cheaper to hire than other countries.

The primary target of the Agra Development Foundation, which will be spearheading the developmental agenda of Agra, is to obtain Japanese aid in developing eco-friendly energy solutions for Agra, which could include solar energy as well as other low-carbon emission techniques. Energy conservation and digitalization of the entire city’s infrastructure is another avenue where the Japanese aid will be invaluable.

Source:India Today

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under About, Smart City

Narendra Modi’s imprint on smart city project

September 23, 2014

After the curtains came down on the UPA regime’s JNNURM scheme, the urban development ministry has got a clear message from the PMO that reliable, adequate and utility services would be critical to a ‘smart city’ while the design and creation should be “region-specific and not a generalised concept as practiced earlier.”

“The PM wants to take big city living to a new level where 24/7 utilities services becomes an essential in public service delivery. So, would be technology-based governance and monitoring of services provided to citizens. Not to miss, a high quality social infrastructure including Wi-Fi zones and recreational spaces form core of the new plans for these cities on the anvil,” Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu said.

On Wednesday, the ministry unveiled a ‘Concept Note on Smart Cities’ giving broad contours about smart cities and their related aspects like financing and selection criteria. The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, which was launched in 2005, had almost 40 per cent of its work incomplete at the time of its closure on March 31 this year.

“A smart city cannot have only a few hours of water supply a day, or electricity that goes off for several hours, or streets littered with garbage. The general appearance of the city has to be pleasing and clean. In Delhi, it is being proposed that the DDA will develop a new smart city through the land pooling scheme and in that, parts of the NDMC area may also be considered for demonstrating all the components of smart cities,” Naidu added.

Using an average figure of 1 million people in each of the 100 smart cities, the High Power Expert Committee on Investment Estimates in urban infrastructure has assessed investment requirements for the services covered comes to Rs.7 lakh crore over 20 years. This translates into an annual requirement of Rs.35,000 crore. “A large part of the financing for smart cities will have to come from the private sector with the states/cities and central government only supplementing that effort,” the document said.

A senior ministry official said that the ministry is deliberating on new models and various global cities in Korea, Canada, North America and some Nordic countries. The ministry has also started talking to states and asked them for proposals on which city they would nominate for the NDA’s ambitious Smart City project.

“We’re taking states along on this. A lot of state capitals and a few heritage and historic cities with a high spiritual value and tourism appeal have already made to the list,” the official said. Most of these cities would thrive on high quality information accessible to citizens.

“A very important feature of all smart cities is good citizen access to information. Whether it be regarding city specific data or the measures being taken by municipal bodies or information relating to various service providers such as transport and similar information relevant for potential investors has to be conveniently available. This could be through multiple channels – internet, mobile apps, radio, TV, print media, etc,” the official said.

In the Union Budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had promised allocation of a sum ofRs.7,060 crore for the development of the smart cities.

Source:India Today

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under About, Government (Govt), Smart City

Smart Cities: Motivations, Misconceptions & Realities

September 23, 2014

A recent GBI Research report claimed that the smart-cities industry will “more than double between 2012 and 2017.” But what’s really going on, and who’s driving it?

A recent GBI Research report claimedthat the smart-cities industry will “more than double between 2012 and 2017.” But what’s really going on, and who’s driving it? The smart cities debate has become muddled: It’s often accompanied by fears about top-down approaches and tech companies controlling the direction. Overall it’s not entirely clear who the stakeholders are. As someone who has worked on different sides of public and private sector fences, I thought I would try to make sense of who the smart cities players are, their roles, the hurdles, and where all of this is headed: Technology companies:Motivated by profit, given capital markets, tech companies always try to pursue the latest new thing with the hope of gaining an advantage on their opposition. So, of course they are in the smart cities space. They often fund the conferences that the public sector and academia cannot afford (or choose not to), and they are developing services and products that they hope will play well. But, also note that most technology “supports” existing city functions, playing an enabling (not standalone) role. Take smart buildings, for example: Most building technology is there to ensure the existing operations work efficiently. Academics, NGOs, and think tanks:These groups (to me) like to be seen as thought leaders in most spaces, and smart cities are no exception. They play a central role in attracting funding for smart cities research. They also give due consideration to the impact the technology will have on cities and are driven by a desire to improve people’s lives and further the discussion. Public sector/governments/specialist agencies:The public sector is a central figure for obvious reasons.

But, in particular, the public sector is involved because of shrinking budgets and the perception (correct, if done wisely) that smart city initiatives can provide “more with less” by incorporating ICT into existing legacy city functions. Of course, the public sector doesn’t control all of cities’ functions or assets — the opposite is often true. But it’s clear, from a political imperative, that cities need to be seen as active and hence take leading roles in this movement. Indeed, some parts of government are tasked specifically to work across the urban space. Private sector: Ironically, the private sector actually owns most of the real assets in cities, not government. For example, real estate owners own the bulk of city assets, and the utilities that service them are becoming more and more privately owned. However, the private sector and asset owners and operators tend to be far less involved in this debate than they should be. Some groups worry too much about tech companies forcing technology into cities. This won’t happen at scale because the profit-motivated private sector and the cash-strapped public sector will predominantly only adopt those goods and services that make sense or are likely to be embraced by citizens. One of the missing discussion points in this whole debate is the distinction between technology innovation and business innovation. So much tech innovation already exists, but the gap lies in the business innovation as both the private and public sectors grapple to understand how to deploy new ideas that cross over existing silos. Cities are still confused over new products and services being offered to them.

New business innovations will provide the answers. At present, too much time is being spent justifying smart cities and rehashing what’s already been discussed. We need to keep the debate not about “why” smart cities are a good idea or “what” technologies we should use but rather discuss “how” to make things happen. We need to work out how to do more with less and how to promote business innovation in smart cities that match the pace of the technology innovations available and allow the use of smart technologies where they make economic sense, are logical, provide benefit to the users, and ultimately improve quality of life. If we don’t do this, I suspect the industry will not double in size by 2017 — and all the advantages that smart cities genuinely bring will not occur.

Source:Information week

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under About, Articles, Smart City

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