What Is Smart City?

Smart city is the name given to cities that use information and communication technologies (ICT) to improve the quality and performance of urban services such as energy, transportation and public services. The inclusive aim of a smart city is to increase the quality of life for its citizens with smart technology.

So what is the smart city? What makes the city really smart?

The purpose of smart cities is to increase the quality of life of their citizens with technological tools and ultimately to create more sustainable cities. Smart city is a team work that covers many segments of the society and requires the integration of technology, information and data solutions in a safe and strategic way.

Smart cities often use data and digital technologies to improve quality of life. Adopting smart applications can offer a range of benefits, from public safety to health and transportation.

A smart city collects and analyzes data from IoT sensors and camcorders. It senses the environment so that the city operator can decide how and when to act. For example; Instead of emptying the municipal trash bin on a scheduled basis every evening, assistance can be obtained from a technology that can notify the authorities when it reaches its full capacity.

Some example smart city solutions are provided with brief descriptions below.

Air quality; The air quality is monitored instantly with sensors and precautions are taken when necessary.

Communication architecture; Citizens can be contacted through interactive kiosks and mobile applications that provide information based on their location.

Environment; All city data is visualized and analyzed. In this way, it is decided when and how the city officials will be treated.

Lighting; With intelligent lighting technologies, energy consumption is reduced, costs are reduced and maintenance is facilitated.

Car park; With demand-based parking solutions, revenue is generated and parking time for citizens is reduced.

Public wireless connection; A way for people to connect with the world is provided with Wi-Fi hardware throughout the city.

Safety and security; It protects against crime, terrorism and civil unrest, and emergency responds faster with advanced video analysis.

Transportation; Traffic management reduces congestion and environmental pollution.

Urban mobility; It is understood where people go, where they spend their time, and this information can be used for city planning.

Waste management; When waste bins are connected with smart technologies, city workers can collect them only when needed. Staff time and resources are saved.

Water management; Safe, efficient water flow can be provided throughout the city.

The vision of a smart city can be different for citizens living in different geographic regions because each city has its own challenges and needs. This means that a smart city in Europe may have different connotations to a city on the Asian continent.

The world population is constantly growing and urbanization is expected to add 2.5 billion more people to the cities over the next thirty years. Increasing human population leads to overcrowding in mega cities around the world such as New York, Tokyo, London and Istanbul. For these reasons, cities have to find ways to eliminate the difficulties faced by residents and vehicles by addressing urban life and mobility with smart policies.

As the population numbers increase, many countries see environmental, social and economic sustainability as a necessity to keep up with growth.

With the participation of the private sector, the number of new initiatives in the smart city area is also increasing. Thanks to partnerships with local governments, new cities are now trying to become smart cities. While the future of smart cities is very promising, many questions need to be addressed, such as a secure and reliable network connection.

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