The pace of urbanization in the 21st century is going through the roof. Every year the number of people seeking to move to big cities is only increasing. Megacities attract residents of villages and villages with good working conditions, higher wages, developed infrastructure and high-quality medicine. But in this regard, a number of legitimate questions arise.
How to improve the standard of living of the urban population? How to simplify the process of city management as much as possible? Is it possible to improve the work of municipal transport? The development of the concept of smart cities will help find answers to all these questions. Actually, it will be discussed in our article.
The Ideal City Problem
Vicenzo Scamozzi, Leonardo da Vinci, Francesco de Marcha, Giovanni Bellucci, Le Corbusier - all these talented people at different times worked on the idea of the so-called ideal city. Europe began to think actively about how to create such a settlementback in the Middle Ages.
For example, a drawing of a two-level street with separate traffic, dating from the middle of the 15th century, has been preserved. Its author is the outstanding Italian scientist Leonardo da Vinci. In the northeast of Italy is the unique old city of Palma Nova in the shape of a star. It was founded in 1593. This is how the “ideal city” was imagined by architect Vicenzo Scamozzi.
Of course, with the rapid development of science and information technology, the idea of an ideal city has changed somewhat. At the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, the concept of a "smart city" was born, which is based on the automation of absolutely all processes of urban life.
Smart City: the main tasks of a smart city
The concept of "smart city" has emerged relatively recently. Moreover, there is no unambiguous and generally accepted interpretation of this term. The very concept of a smart city (Smart City - in the English version) was born in the late 90s. It was then that the progressive part of humanity realized for the first time that the future lies with the development of the IT sector. It is curious that initially this idea was developed exclusively in an ecological and environmental context. But years have passed, and today Smart City is a comprehensive reality.
So, what is a smart city? The following definition can be given: it is the integration of all communication and information technologies in order to effectively manage the urban system. According to the smart city concept, all these technologies are usedin order to solve a number of important tasks:
- Rational use of all urban infrastructure facilities.
- Comprehensive improvement of the environment.
- Prompt collection and transmission of data to city officials.
- Establishing close ties between city government and local residents.
7 signs of a smart city
In short, the main goal of the smart city program is to increase the efficiency of all municipal services. Is it possible to somehow distinguish a Smart City from an ordinary settlement? It turns out you can. Here are the seven essential signs of a smart city:
- Involving ordinary urban residents in management issues.
- Availability of intelligent traffic control systems.
- A smart approach to street lighting.
- Introduce citywide and affordable Wi-Fi.
- Active use of solar panels.
- Presence of a system for alerting citizens about emergencies via SMS messages.
- Minimum use of cash to pay for goods and services.
Today's key smart city technologies include wireless sensor networks, various online platforms, sensors (such as traffic, air pollution, etc.), electronic maps and apps.
Smart city device
According to the concept we are considering, a smart city consists of seven structural components (parts) - three main andfour auxiliaries. This is:
- Smart economy (development of information and communication technologies, favorable environment for innovation, availability of an online booking system).
- Smart financial system (cashless payments, availability of ATMs and terminals, transparency in the distribution of tenders).
- Smart city management (open municipal administration, close ties between local authorities and ordinary residents).
- Smart public transport.
- Smart infrastructure.
- Smart lighting.
- Smart residents.
Let's take a closer look at some of these components, namely transportation and lighting.
Smart urban transport
The transport of the future, according to the famous Brazilian urbanist Jaime Lerner, will be maneuverable and extremely cheap. It will run on the surface and can be easily integrated into underground metro lines. Today, various countries are actively working on the development of a smart bus, a smart bike and a smart taxi.
Smart transport controls everything that happens in the passenger compartment and on the roadway. At the same time, he is able to promptly transmit information about traffic violations to the relevant authorities.
One of the most important components of any smart city is geolocation. It helps to track the movement of urban transport online by determining the location of a particular bus, trolleybus or taxi. In many cities of the world, an optimization system has already been introducedthe movement of municipal transport, which prompts the passenger (through special information panels or smartphones of users) the best route of movement.
Smart City Lighting
Imagine that you are walking down a night street, the lights on which are lit automatically as you progress. Similar technologies have long been introduced in many cities around the world. So-called motion sensors are extremely popular today. They detect the presence of a person (or a vehicle), and only then turn on the light. Scientists have calculated that smart lamps within the concept of "smart city" can save up to 80% of electricity compared to conventional incandescent lamps.
It should be noted that in the near future, lighting will become comfortable not only for people, but also for plants. Research is already underway on smart lighting for urban parks and gardens, with automatic adjustment of the brightness, intensity and hue of the emitted light.
Architectural lighting is booming. Thanks to a wide variety of LED lamps, new opportunities are created for the original design illumination of the facades of urban buildings and public facilities.
Smart Cities: the most famous examples
Currently, the Smart City concept is implemented to a greater or lesser extent in 350 cities around the world. According to analysts, by 2020 this figure will increase to 600 settlements. Here are some examples of the world's smartest cities:
- Singapore (Singapore).
- Masdar (UAE).
- Columbus (USA).
- Yinchuan (China).
- Fujisawa (Japan).
- Curitiba (Brazil).
Let's take a quick look at what smart technologies are implemented and used in the listed settlements.
Singapore
In the ranking of the smartest cities, the first line is often given to Singapore. The government of the country launched a special Smart Nation program here, under which city blocks were equipped with solar panels, vacuum waste bins, as well as sensors that control the volume of electricity and water consumption. Many homes in Singapore have special sensors that monitor the movements of the elderly and, if necessary, send messages to nearby hospitals.
Masdar
The village of Masdar is a futuristic project of the city of the future, located on the territory of the United Arab Emirates. As conceived by the designers, it should become completely autonomous and self-sufficient. All energy required for the operation of city services and systems will be obtained exclusively from natural renewable sources - wind, sun and water. Despite the hot climate, the air temperature comfortable for human life will remain on the streets of Masdar. This project will be fully implemented only by 2030.
Columbus
At least 850 thousand people live in the capital of Ohio. Google has implemented its Flow system here, which collects and analyzes information about transporttraffic from smartphones and navigators. This helps the municipal authorities to avoid big traffic jams, and helps local residents to choose the best route and mode of transportation, taking into account the congestion of the main roads. In addition, self-driving shuttle buses will begin operating in Columbus very soon.
Yinchuan
The relatively small Chinese city of Yinchuan is notable, first of all, for the fact that there is no need not only for cash, but also for bank cards. In order to make a purchase, it is enough to bring your face to a special sensor. The unique face recognition system will automatically deduct the required amount from your account.
Besides this, a number of other smart technologies are successfully operating in the city. For example, all waste containers are solar-powered and equipped with full indicators. But in the building of the local administration, visitors are greeted not by government officials, but by holograms that can solve many problems of citizens.
Fujisawa
How not to mention Japan, which today is one of the leaders in the introduction of the latest technologies and developments. Most recently, Fujisawa Smart City was inaugurated in this country. Only electric cars roam its streets, and all houses use only solar energy.
Smart lighting has been installed in the streets and alleys of Fujisawa. Flashlights turn on only when there are moving objects in their coverage area. In Japan, as you know, earthquakes are not uncommon. But the city of Fujisawafully prepared for any natural disasters and is able to provide its residents with cold and hot water for at least three days.
Curitiba
Brazilian Curitiba is perhaps the most striking example of a "smart city" if we talk exclusively about developing countries. Many problems of the modern metropolis were resolved here fifty years ago. Largely thanks to the efforts of the mayor of the city - Jaime Lerner. He became famous throughout the world for the modernization of his native Curitiba, transforming the urban environment to a reference level in terms of planning.
Lerner has achieved particular success in the field of urban transport. The statistics speak for themselves:
- Curitiba's public transport consumes 30% less fuel than other major metropolitan areas.
- The city bus system is as efficient as the light rail.
- Curitiba is famous for one of the largest pedestrian zones among all cities in the world.
- About 70% of São Paulo residents would like to live in Curitiba.
Smart Cities of Russia
The concept of smart cities has been of great interest in Russia in recent years. The fact that it resonates with politicians and officials of various levels is also positive. So, in 2016, at the initiative of the Moscow Government, the Smart City Center was opened at VDNKh. A separate pavilion was built for it with a rather original design of the external facades (in the form of a relief pattern of computer chips).
Within Moscow, they want to implement the concept of a smart city in the village of Kommunarka (the settlement of Sosenskoye). Here, the city authorities are planning to create a modern business center with the participation of the French company Engie.
But Huawei is directly involved in the implementation of the Safe City project in St. Petersburg. A cloud storage system for video files collected from 12,000 surveillance cameras has already been developed in the Northern Capital. It allows you to find the desired fragment in a matter of minutes and take appropriate security measures. The total capacity of this cloud storage is impressive: about 40 PB (for reference: 1 PB is 1 million GB of memory).
Smart City: Rostelecom's concept
In April 2018, the Ministry of Construction of the Russian Federation held an extended meeting of a special working group with the participation of representatives from various regions of the country. At it, Rostelecom presented a roadmap for the new Smart City project as part of the Digital Economy of Russia state program.
The Smart City concept developed by Rostelecom includes a number of tasks in six different areas designed to significantly improve the lives of citizens. Among the most important results of this project:
- Introduction of public transport on unmanned control.
- Reduction of accidents and emergencies in the housing and communal services system.
- Decrease in the total number of accidents in cities.
- Increasing the reliability of energy supply.
The Ministry of Construction of the Russian Federation also compiled a listmunicipalities where this pilot project will be implemented. It includes 18 cities: Perm, Voronezh, Veliky Novgorod, Ufa, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Kotovsk, Evpatoria, Tolyatti, Izhevsk, Yelabuga, Glazov, Sarov, Novouralsk, Satka, Sarapul, Magas and Sosnovy Bor.
In conclusion…
"Smart City" is a concept based on a settlement that uses a variety of information technologies for the more efficient functioning of all its services and systems. The key idea of such a city is to collect various information (in real time) and use it to make rational, constructive decisions.
