Community Meeting (August 22, 2018): Smart Cities

Description

Presenter: Gillian and Syeda

They will be presenting a report on smart cities from around the world. They will discuss the definition of “smart cities” and different understandings associated with the term, do a brief overview of a few smart cities that are successful and others that have a strong strategic plan to becoming “smart”, and present criticisms/feedback they have received from experts.

Slides

Notes

Video Recording

  • What is a Smart City
    • There isn't a single definition of a Smart City
    • There is no real measure of what is a smart city
    • There is a huge focus on the technology
    • One definition
      • "A smart city is simply the extensive use of the most current technology to substantially enhance residents' quality of life, improve the efficiency of the city, and grow the local economy, through participatory governance"
  • Cities explored
    • New York
      • often used as an exemplar for other "smart" cities
      • ranked as the "smartest" city in the world by the "IESE Cities in Motion Index 2016"
      • "smart" based on how it uses and adapts based on the data it collects
      • Areas of opportunity
        • traffic
        • environment
        • entrepreneurship
        • operational excellence program
          • public-private partnership
        • feedback
        • housing
        • childcare
      • Areas for improvement
        • Inclusion is essential
        • Not all about tech
        • Smart Citizens
          • Education of residents and their ability to interact with the up and coming city
        • Pubic Private sector partnerships
        • City lead innovation
        • Data transparency
    • Barcelona
      • Ranked as the smartest city in the world in 2015 by Juniper Research
        • supporting technical cohesion
      • initially they started by implementing an e-governance system
      • shifted to using the technology to addressing socio-economic issues
      • provided funding to startups, and open data
        • e.g. City Bikes, ApparkB
      • Adopted IoT technology to enable communication between infrastructures. 
        • e.g. IoT for waste services so they know when waste needs to be collected
      • Areas for improvement
        • Top-down approach, City council led initiatives. Not enough public consultation or education.
        • Gentrification and displacement of low-middle income families
    • Dubai
      • In the process of becoming a smart city
      • Their goal is to make their people the happiest people in the world
      • Why making Dubai a smart city
        • growing population
        • ranked as having the highest annual carbon dioxide emissions per capita
        • hosting world 2020 expo
      • City Initiatives
        • Happiness Meter
        • smart district guidelines
          • educate various stakeholders in the build environment
        • smart dubai index
        • dubai data
        • smart dubai platform
        • dubai blockchain
      • Areas of opportunity
        • IoT technology for sustainability
        • Monitor available resources
        • Involving citizens in the process of these initiatives
    • Hong Kong
      • development proposal published Dec 2017
      • Aim to publish blueprint by 3rd quarter 2018
      • 6 smart pillars
        • mobility
        • living
        • environment
        • people
        • government
        • economy
      • Areas of opportunity
        • proposal to allow individuals to sell excess energy back to the grid
        • property technology like airbnb
        • already have an access guide for the city: accessguide.hk
      • Areas for improvement
        • slow to take up on tech due to finance and business hub
        • lack of incentive for young people to take up jobs in tech
          • not enough innovation
        • housing
  • The role of occupational therapist
    • Be knowledgeable about and conduct further research on the relationships between land-use planning and health outcomes
    • Identify where/how people menage in activities related to self-care, productivity and leisure and help design environments that incorporate physical activity
    • Play a role at the systems, policies and government level to provide consultation and influence decisions around urban planning