The term “smart city” elicits a wild vision of the world of tomorrow: flying cars, floating homes, transportation tunnels, and pretty much anything else you remember from The Jetsons or Futurama. However, the reality of smart cities is hardly the sci-fi innovation it sounds like. But that doesn’t mean we don’t need them more than ever.
Between increasing populations, inefficient transportation, and dangerous weather conditions, the cities of today face a wide range of serious problems, many of which can be addressed through technology. However, solving these problems takes more than an IT task force and a paltry budget. You need common sense advancements that actively improve the lives of citizens on a daily basis.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t sound very sexy, particularly in a tech industry built on a foundation of flashy innovations and over-the-top presentation. Smart cities are a necessity when it comes to solving the problems of growing cities, but will a lack of flare slow their progress?
Smart Cities Explained
Smart cities aren’t the futuristic metropolitan areas you are picturing, and that’s okay. The term simply refers to cities that invest in information and communication technology to improve services within that city. These services include day=to-day necessities like transportation, utilities, and emergency alerts.
Making a city smart means installing the apps, softwares, and services into a government system to make it run more efficiently. The groundwork has already been laid down for some cities to take it to the next level.
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