Our world is slowly entering the future. With new technologies and inventions, there have been so many things possible. The man has reached the moon and people can now fly. The latest trend of the 21st century is smart cities. Read on to know which are the best smart cities in the world to live in!
What Is A Smart City?
A smart city is a futuristic concept of a city that is connected to a cyber-level. Also, a smart city will be wired to the Internet. Besides, it is sustainable and fuel-efficient.
A smart city is a concept that exalts the ease of living, majorly based on IT-based technologies like the Internet of things (IoT), artificial intelligence, machine learning or even robotics to some extent.
Smart cities are the next level of urban settings. By 2030, more than 5 billion people will live in urban settings.
Amsterdam and Barcelona are best known smart cities with 79 and 122 projects approx. started in 2009 and 1990s respectively.
Smart cities aren’t special without technologies. That is to say, technologies are an important factor for the development of any country and the improvement of the lifestyle of the people.
Let’s have a look at the top 16 technologies that every smart city must-have.
16 Technologies That Every Smart City Must Have
1. WiFi Trees
Firstly, every smart city must have Wifi connectivity. This concept has already come up in many smart cities across the world. A smart city is all about the internet. WiFi-enabled trees all across the city can help to improve so many other services round the clock.
2. E-Schools
Next, schools in smart cities should be completely digitized. Blackboards should be replaced with smart boards and teachers should make use of technologies to teach students. Interactive teaching apps can help a child understand the concept much better.
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3. City Guides
City guides should be made available across the city on TV Screens. Guides to the city’s museums, subway stations, bus stops, educational institutions, parks, landmarks, public art, restaurants, etc should be made available on these screens.
4. Solar Powered
The whole city should be energy competent and completely powered on solar energy. Roofs covered with solar panels or gardens, machines and business running on solar energy will not only save a lot of money but also contribute to protecting the environment.
ImgSrc –Â inhabitat.com/
5. Charging Stations
Charging stations should be made available at every major junction.
These charging stations include points to charge anything, from your smartphone to your laptop. They also function as bus stops and WiFi hot spots.
6. High-Speed Trains
With rapidly growing smart cities, new transportation solutions need to be developed to keep mobility dynamic. Over the head or underground high-speed trains with excellent air conditioning and WiFi-enabled. Our cities do have trains, but we very well know how much time it takes. Reaching your destination within just 5 mins rather than 15 mins is something every smart city should provide. Bullet trains?
7. Hi-Tech Buses
The “conductor-free” buses with pneumatic doors and ergonomically designed seats are what every smart city needs. Another problem that commuters face on a bus is a spare change of money. Similarly, hi-tech buses and smart cities must go hand in hand.
8. Faster Crisis Response Systems
Smart cities without proper crisis response systems are useless. Nobody knows what type of disaster will be struck and when.
Smart cities need a faster crisis response system that can alert the authorities immediately as the crisis occurs and a crisis management team can be quickly sent to the spot.
Police forces need to use real-time data to monitor and prevent crime.
9. Smartphone App
Most of the cities have their apps. But they have 1000 apps for 1000 different purposes. This is not very feasible for the citizens. A smart city should have its very own app that includes each and everything from local news to city guides, from weather to concerning traffic, every information in real-time.
10. Recycling System
The amount of waste is increasing day by day. Certainly, recycling is a major issue in today’s world. Smart cities without smart recycling technologies are like a lake without water.
Smart cities need waste recycling systems that not only help to reduce the waste and recycle it but also to reuse it in some other way.
High-tech waste management systems such as Pay As You Throw (PAYT) garbage disposal to encourage people to recycle more and waste less.
ImgSrc –Â straitstimes
11. E-Cabins
E-Cabins are like a one-stop-shop where you can get all your work done like banking, insurance, ticketing, etc. This is one of the must-have smart cities technologies. You can use the ATM, update your passbook, pay your bills, refill your travel cards, etc. In short, all at one stop. Most importantly, these systems should have an inbuilt voice assistant.
12. Smart Health Care
The development of smarter healthcare services will provide quality services in smart cities. Smarter care will reduce costs and connect users within the healthcare industry to provide necessary patient information.
Immediate health care and crisis response like first aid, an ambulance should be made available 24/7 at all the major junctions.
13. Improved Security
Similarly, smart cities should have surveillance cameras at every nook and corner. OLED lights and surveillance in high-crime zones can help prevent crimes and tackle unwanted situations.
14. Self Driven Cars/Electronic Cars
Many of us are familiar with this concept. Smart cities require smart technologies. And what’s better than self-driven cars! Every smart city plans to see their cars drive across the city without a human doing anything more than enjoying the scenery. Moreover, this technology promises to radically remake the very form and fabric of our cities.
15. Portable Homes
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Portable homes are a perfect solution for many people who have to migrate regularly. Also, portable homes are booming as the living space shrinks.
16. Automatic Temperature Controlling Houses
Smart cities can have houses and infrastructure built in such a way that it can automatically control the temperature inside. Above all, this is one of the most important smart cities technologies based on the current climate change. If it is burning hot outside, the room inside would be cool without an AC.
Also, if it’s snowing in the city, the room will be automatically warm as per the normal human body temperature. Moreover, houses should also be environmentally friendly.
For instance, the Indian government has started a campaign of 100 smart cities in 2015. Let’s wait and hope for the best technologies in these smart cities that can transform the way we live.
Top 6 Smart Cities In The World
According to the IESE Cities in Motion Index, here is a list of top six smart cities in the world as of June 2019. New York has been listed as the best smart city in the world for two years in a row. These cities have various latest smart cities technologies like:
- Face recognition technology
- Public transportation apps
- Smart bins for waste management
- Mobility
- International outreach
- Urban planning
- Trash levels monitoring
- Automated Meter Reading (AMR) water system.
List of Smart Cities In The World
Here is a list of smart cities in the world. Top 20!
- New York
- London
- Paris
- Tokyo
- Reykjavik
- Singapore
- Seoul
- Toronto
- Hong Kong
- Amsterdam
- Melbourne
- Copenhagen
- Sydney
- Stockholm
- Vienna
- Washington
- Helsinki
- Dublin
- Barcelona
- Hamburg
In conclusion, smart cities are a step into the future. It is currently on the horizon. Smart cities will benefit the citizens as well as the environment.
So, do you live in a smart city? Write down your smart city in the comments section below.
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