What’s a Smart City?
As the global population continues to grow at a steady pace, more and more people are moving to cities every single day.
Experts predict the world’s urban population will double by 2050 – which means we’re adding the equivalent of seven New York Cities to the planet every single year. As our planet becomes more urban, our cities need to get smarter. To handle this large-scale urbanization, we’ll need to find new ways to manage complexity, increase efficiency, reduce expenses, and improve quality of life.
With this rapid growth ahead of us, imagine if our cities could talk—if they could give us live status updates on traffic patterns, pollution, parking spaces, water, power and light. Imagine how that kind of information could improve the economic and environmental health of the city for residents, merchants, and visitors. Imagine how it could improve working conditions and productivity for the people who maintain the city.
Emerging technologies are poised to reshape our urban environments. Using ultra-low power sensors, wireless networks, and web and mobile-based applications, Smart Cities are becoming a reality.