According to UN estimates, over 55% of the world’s population lives in urban areas today. By 2050, this number will grow to 68%. And a significant part of global urban population growth will take place in Asia and Africa. At the same time, some megacities are already struggling to cope with the current inflow of new inhabitants. So, that’s why the government must make immediate adjustments in city development planning. It is about sustainable urbanization, including basic services, infrastructure, and affordable housing for residents. Today, these tasks are assigned to smart cities.
The concept of smart cities originated as far back as the second half of the twentieth century. It was first used by the US Community Analysis Bureau, which began to collect data, thus countering the effects of disasters and tackling poverty. And nowadays, IoT solutions have extended this concept. They are focused on city economic development, infrastructure and environmental improvement, and digital optimization of public assets. Let us consider in more detail smart city solutions that are assisting megacities in achieving these goals.
A smart city is an urban area that uses multiple devices to collect specific data and share it over a wide network across a city. This includes all information gathered from inhabitants, cameras, RFID tags, and sensors embedded in transport, power plants, workplaces, etc. Due to this, city services can monitor such key parameters as traffic, noise, and pollution levels. Then the processed data is used to efficiently manage assets, resources, and services, eventually improving city operations.
A smart city aims not only at improving urban services but its cost reduction. This is achieved by optimization, developing automated services, mobility, and smart management. The concept of modern cities is based on the idea of smart technology reconciliation with the economic, social, and ecological challenges of the future. Or, to put it another way, how citizens can improve their quality of life in urban areas while respecting and saving the natural environment.
Smart cities require a regular energy supply. And the Internet of things provides capabilities for creating robust transmission and distribution systems. With IoT, city companies can optimize energy generation processes to meet residents’ ever-changing needs.
A continuous power supply is impossible without constant monitoring. To deal with this task, utilities use IoT sensors integrated across every energy production, distribution, supply, and consumption phase. Real-time data collected from power plants, transformers, and other equipment predicts possible breakdowns and sends alarms about needing replacement or repair. This allows providers to take urgent measures and maintain an uninterrupted electricity supply. Thus, predictive maintenance avoids power disturbances and reduces maintenance costs.
Smart grids help to manage renewables and increase their efficiency. With IoT solutions, companies can connect different energy sources into one network to control them remotely via applications. And also, because of dependence on weather conditions, green energy is intermittent. But smart transmission systems can automatically switch between non-renewable and renewable power supplies. Thus, smart cities can use renewable energy in suitable weather conditions, reducing pollution.
Bad weather conditions and constant overload can disable power lines, resulting in a power blackout. Urban areas usually remain de-energized until local utilities detect and resolve the accident. A smart transmission system allows electricity suppliers to quickly restore by searching for another route. It redirects energy to districts without power.
IoT capabilities allow city governments to track electricity flows and detect thefts. Smart meters provide real-time information about consumption and help to bill more accurately. This eliminates the possibility of fraudulent billing. Additionally, such daily monitoring leads to lower power costs for consumers.
Today, large-scale urbanization is pushing city infrastructure to critical performance limits. In addition to the overloading of grids and roads, modern cities suffer from air pollution and new challenges posed by climate change. Urban areas with a rapidly growing population require digital solutions to modernize aging city infrastructures.
Smart city solutions for urban roads and highways involve measures aimed at safer driving and sustainable transportation. Different IoT sensors help prevent congestion and accidents by monitoring and analyzing traffic patterns. Specially engineered roadways can charge electric cars while driving with the help of electromagnetic effects. Smart city technologies also limit the need to widen roads by making the most available space.
Smart traffic signals are another important component of urban road modernization. The system gathers real-time data from thousands of cameras and road detectors. It analyzes traffic conditions, makes decisions based on them, and sends commands to smart traffic lights. One more advantage is synchronization with emergency services. With a smart traffic light management system, emergency vehicles can cut response times by up to 35%.
Smart street lighting automatically regulates the light intensity based on a daily schedule, weather conditions, human presence, and intensity of traffic. For example, it dims the lights in places with a small number of people. Such smart lights are equipped with solar panels, increasing energy efficiency and cutting maintenance costs.
Lack of parking spaces is one of the biggest issues in large cities. It affects both drivers and pedestrians. That’s why urban digital transformation is impossible without smart parking solutions. They enable the city government to manage and reduce street parking search traffic. Such systems help drivers quickly find free parking lots near them. Besides the obvious advantages, it also carries such benefits as the consumption of less fuel, reduced stress, and minimization of personal carbon footprint.
Speaking about smart city technologies, it is impossible not to mention modern buildings, which provide a better quality of life. They include multiple IoT solutions that contribute to reducing the cost of utilities, ensuring public safety, and supporting the overall health of surroundings. Ultimately, smart buildings enhance the efficiency of the whole smart city.
Building-integrated sensors collect data about electricity, water, and heating usage. With this valuable information, building administration can optimize the supply of resources and reduce bills. Additionally, energy efficiency in buildings is central to reducing gas emissions. Monitoring systems also control the water level in tanks. They maintain an optimal amount of water and alert building authorities whenever it is close to the threshold value.
Automatic leakage management systems, which include noise loggers, pressure sensors, and smart meters, are another example of smart monitoring. They control water distribution networks’ KPIs and identify weak segments. With constant monitoring, leakage teams can early detect pipe breakage and quickly respond.
IoT solutions have long been working on keeping public safety. Biometrics and security cameras have become so commonplace that we can’t imagine our places to live and work without them. Perimeter security systems prevent trespassing in protected areas. They can identify attackers and then send camera footage and other valuable information to public safety officials. Thus, smart city solutions help reduce crime and improve public safety.
Big cities are suffering more and more from car dependence, low road capacity, reduced public transport ridership, lack of cycling infrastructure, increasing vehicle emissions, etc. Effective solutions to these problems and infrastructure investment should be a priority for city governments.
For example, smart public transportation can be a sustainable alternative to private transport. Today to that end, cameras and sensors are installed at bus stops and inside buses. Collected data help to analyze the popularity of the route, the number of passengers, and the time of peak capacity. Then, smart cities can use this valuable information to optimize outdated transportation systems and maximize bus capacity.
Smart mobility is not only available parking spaces and traffic control, which have already been discussed above. Urban mobility solutions also include pedestrian control systems, improved cycling infrastructure, charging stations for electric vehicles, carpooling networks, and other aspects. Some data-driven projects have already been launched in Barcelona, Amsterdam, San Francisco, and Singapore. The success of their implementation is proved by reduced traffic congestion, the popularity of bike-sharing services, diminishing number of road fatalities and injuries.
The annual urban population increase demonstrates that the old waste management method is highly inefficient. The wrong approach leads to several problems at once: overflowing dumpsters, unsanitary, complaints from local residents, illegal dumping, and increased cleaning costs. And to optimize waste operations, smart cities apply new IoT solutions.
Smart waste management is based on the combination of hardware and software. Systems include smart bin sensors, an analytics platform, intelligent routing, asset tracking, and other tools. Using these IoT solutions, utilities can monitor the amount of garbage in the trash cans and take it out before dumpsters begin to overfill.
Additionally, waste collectors can use smart routing to optimize their routes, and pick up only those bins that are in need of service, thus reducing greenhouse gas emissions and operational costs. Data analytics also help smart city municipalities to predict the amount of waste generation and prevent disease spread.
As you have already noticed, despite their complexity, smart city solutions provide many benefits for urban dwellers around the world. They make urban communities smarter, ensure the best possible use of resources, improve the quality of life, shape the pure environment, and provide a sustainable future. All these key factors are essential for the further development of fast-growing cities.
The success of smart city solutions also depends on a unified approach from local authorities and residents. Some collaboration tools are already familiar to us: mobile applications, self-service portals, and online bill payments. Additionally, close communication with citizens helps to highlight pain points and respond to them. Although the implementation of most of the applications would fall to city governments, private companies also can take the initiative and become funders.
No matter how revolutionary projects for smart cities are, they face a number of serious obstacles. In addition to financing, there are also several concerns, such as proper planning, relevance to the requirements, and cultural responsiveness. But today, the experience of New York, Copenhagen, Helsinki, and other smart cities is closely examined by technology providers for further improvement of IoT solutions in the future.
