Smart City Evolution White Paper Solutions
The Evolution of Smart Cities: Delivering on the Promise,Eric Woods,Ryan Citron The importance of cities to the development of a sustainable, global economy that can,people's lives. There are many signs that this shift is happening:,If you'd like to receive new articles, solutions briefs, whitepapers and more—just let us know. Cities need to demonstrate that innovative technologies and new approaches to service,There is no single model for the smart ,The smart city technology landscape is broad. Almost any digital or infrastructureSmart metering, demand management, renewable energy integration, microgrids, vehicle-to-grid support, energy as a service, community energy,Smart meters, distribution automation, grid analytics, demand response systems, energy storage, energy management systems (EMSs), grid communicationsWater system upgrades, consumptionbmonitoring, wastewater treatment, environmental safety systems, flood management,Smart water meters, sensor and communication networks, water and wastewater monitoring and management systems, water system analytics, flood detectionTraffic monitoring and management congestion management, road user charging, mobility as a service, public information systems, smart parking, integrated traffic light management,Intelligent traffic management, adaptive traffic control, EV charging systems, road use pricing systems, sensors networks, monitoring and management parking, traffic monitoring, predictive analytics, public portals and smart apps, open data platforms, connected and autonomous vehiclesIntelligent building control, building energy efficiency, building retrofits, building-to-grid integration,Building EMSs, building automation management systems, building Internet of Things (IoT), building analytics, energy performance management, grid integration, intelligent lighting systemsPublic safety, social care, smart street lighting, smart waste management, environmental monitoring, city management, citizen portals, open data,Sensor networks, city communication networks, cloud computing services, data analytics and AI, digital twins, data platforms, connected lighting,Of the 50 largest US cities, 38 have a smart,The next phase in the evolution of smart cities is the most important and possibly the The evolution of smart cities is entering a critical new phase. Where the first phase focused on creating a smart city vision and the second on innovation, the third phase is focused on delivering outcomes that make a significant impact on major city challenges. Achieving that impact requires proven solutions to be deployed at scale across cities and communities in an effective and efficient manner. Thinking about smart cities in this way is not to prescribe some simple pathway that all cities will follow in linear fashion, nor is each phase ever completed. But the relationship between the three elements is implicit in any overall smart city approach—how to balance vision, innovation, and outcomes in a way that maintains progress and can demonstrate real and growing value to cities and communities. Cities deploying solutions at scale will continue to evolve their vision of the future city and support new waves of innovation and experimentation. What is important is to understand the distinct characteristics, requirements, and objectives of each phase and how they are interconnected. Initial smart city programs spring from diverse starting points, including mayoral leadership, city consultations, government mandates, public-private sector collaborations, R&D projects, and challenge competitions. Whatever the initial impetus, the focus should be on establishing a common vision based on an understanding of city priorities and key assets, founding collaborations and partnerships, and conducting early pilot projects. The following are key features of any shared vision for smart cities:The most successful cities have not only produced a guiding vision for a smart city, they are embedding these ideas into their programs for service improvement and capital investment. There is strong leadership from the top and clear accountability for delivering the plan. The most common failing with smart city strategies is a lack of momentum and insufficient alignment with a city's real priorities. A change of administration or the absence of ongoing funding can leave ambitious programs to whither from neglect. Programs too focused on the potential of technology in the abstract and not tied to specific city issues also often fail to evolve with city needs. Ultimately, the success of any smart city vision is only realized through specific projects and innovations that have an impact on the quality of life in the city or other key metrics. Vision statements and smart city roadmaps can provide shared goals and clear targets but must also be matched by a commitment to build on successful pilots and implement solutions at scale. Pilots have an important role in enabling cities to understand the potential of technology and innovative approaches to service delivery, city operations, and infrastructure management. A proliferation of pilots and demonstration projects characterized early smart city programs. In recent years, those projects have themselves evolved and the innovation phase has become increasingly more sophisticated. Many early pilots were too small in scale and too focused on technology issues to offer a clear path to future deployment. Those pilots also often lacked support for further development when the initial funding ran out. Smart city pilots now focus on larger scale demonstrations, the assessment of benefits and outcomes, citizen engagement and co-creation, and the exploration of potential business models. Leading cities are looking to align pilots with core city challenges, required outcomes, and operational needs. Cites like Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bristol, London, Lyon, and Singapore have established broad portfolios of innovation projects that address key priorities. Similar approaches are being implement in US cities like Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Columbus, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Sacramento, Spokane, and San Diego. One example is the creation of broad-based city innovation networks that are tied to longer-term infrastructure investment. Cities like San Diego and Sacramento are looking into developing next-generation communication networks and city platforms that will enable a rolling program of smart city innovation. OCTO places a strong emphasis on partnerships between city agencies, the federal government, universities, business improvement districts, the tech community, neighborhood organizations, and other stakeholders. OCTO's key aims for the Smarter DC program include the following:,These considerations will be key as the district looks to deploy smart technologies at scale. For example, it is looking to upgrade all 75,000 street lights under its management to energy efficient LEDs with smart controls. As part of the procurement process, city officials have been reaching out to the community through a series of local meetings to explain the benefits of the project and elicit feedback. The project, which will be delivered via a public-private partnership, will include support for additional smart city applications and will extend the city's Wi-Fi coverage. The ultimate proof of the value of smart city solutions is the delivery of better outcomes in priority areas such as public safety, transportation, health, social equity, and environmental quality. This means that smart city initiatives need to deliver results at a scale that can have a long-term impact on the quality and efficiency of city services. Innovative technology and new approaches to service delivery can positively impact key city metrics, but to achieve this they must implement solutions that:,Key steps in this evolution include the following:,Above all, technology innovation must be matched to real-world experience in the transformation of urban services and an understanding of what that entails in terms of organizational, operational, and political capacity. To improve scalability, cross-sector approaches need to be built into standard operating models, city planning, common procurement processes, inter-department collaborations, and partnerships with the private sector. The evolution of smart cities is not happening in isolation from broader technological and social changes. Smart cities can be seen as the embodiment of the massive opportunities and challenges presented by what the World Economic Forum has called the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The combination of ubiquitous communication, new energy solutions, innovations in transportation, and the digitization of almost all aspects of society mark a massive change in economies and societies. To this can be added the challenges of mitigating and adapting to climate change. Klaus Schwab has identified three reasons the resulting changes need to be understood as a Fourth Industrial Revolution:,All these characteristics are relevant to the further development of smart cities, which are becoming living laboratories for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Each element builds on the lessons of the last decade and also contributes to the shift in thinking needed to deliver results at scale. These developments, and the way some of the leading cities are addressing them, are examined in more detail in the following sections. Leading cities have laid strong foundations for,An important element in this transformation is developing citywide capacity to harness new To realize the multi-sector and combinatorialThe city as a service idea is taking many forms. For Columbus, Ohio—building on itsThe success of the smart city concept reflects its Navigant Research prepared this white paper, commissioned by Verizon, as a guide to the evolution of,Published 1Q 2020 Navigant Research, Smart City Tracker 2Q19, 2Q 2019. City of Los Angeles, Department of Transportation, "About Us,",Navigant Research, Smart Cities Evolution: From Vision to Scale, July 2019,Choose your country to view contact details. Existing customers, to your business account or . If you are already a Verizon customer, we have several options to help you get the support you need. These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. 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