Smart cities

Allegedly, a year ago, during a Christmas party of a community-based cooperative, the municipal mayor emphatically declared in his message before members in attendance that the traffic jams they are experiencing in their town is a sign of progress.   

Today, the traffic situation in this town is so terrible. This is happening despite the fact that most vehicles are still immobilized as in-person classes have not resumed and economic activities are way below pre-pandemic level. With traffic jams lasting for two hours at times, we can only surmise that probably, the mayor, in his Christmas message this year, must have doubly emphasized that their town is progressing by leaps and bounds. 

Devoid of logic it may be, sadly, some local government executives think that way. It is, therefore, incumbent upon us to educate these executives and those swayed by their logics by knowing and understanding where the other cities in the world are, in terms of real progress, and the comforts they bring to their people.

For one, early this year, the United Nations projected that there will be a huge surge in the population (68%) in the urban areas around the world by 2050. This surge in the population in the urban areas will certainly strain the existing infrastructure and services. For one, movements of these residents around and through the other cities will be a big concern. Also, addressing the residents’ basic needs such as energy, water, sanitation, etc. will be a huge challenge. 

Therefore, politicians and urban planners need to lay the foundation to address them. To the poorer cities like ours, it will be a tall order. However, to the affluent ones, their paths are clear. They will be “leveraging technology based on the Internet of Things (IoT) and integrating an online population into new systems that make a city work—a new and evolving smart city.”

So that, cities like London, New York, Tokyo, Reykjavik, Copenhagen, Berlin, Amsterdam, Singapore and Hong Kong are preparing for this eventuality.  In direct response to such study, these cities are investing largely in their respective “smart city” initiatives.

To make a “smart city” works, it shall heavily use “sensors, networks, and applications that “collect data on energy usage, traffic volume and patterns, pollution levels, and other topics which are then analyzed and used to correct and predict usage and patterns.” Then, it shall make the “data available to everyone through open-access systems and allow citizens and businesses to leverage that information for their own purposes.”

So that, as recently reported by McKinsey, “the first layer is a technology base that includes a critical mass of smartphones and sensors connected by high-speed communication networks.” Then, the second layer of specific applications translates the constant stream of raw data into alerts, insights, and action.” The third one could be the most critical as there is a need for the public to buy in and participate.

For instance, apps that show traffic volume in real time, “allow drivers and pedestrians to better plan travel routes and adapt at a moment’s notice.” That capability speeds everyone along and, hopefully, “prevents further backup in the congested area.” Of course, we all know that this is what “waze” can do. However, unlike us, cities like Singapore and Dubai are able to use these apps effectively as their infrastructures fit well with these kinds of applications. 

Apart from “waze”, The Routing Company, a spun out of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, “dynamically routes shared rides in real time through a fleet management dashboard, a rider app and a driver app.” Also, it is currently developing a “platform that helps cities manage public buses and other transportation.”  Thus, helping cities improve “the reach, efficiency, and sustainability of public transit.” 

Moreover, smart cities, through a sensor, have “digital tracking of waste receptacles that tells a garbage hauler when a can is full.” Therefore, unlike us, garbage haulers will only pick up those that are full. Consequently, not only that they are efficient, they are not unnecessarily contributing to road congestions like what we are experiencing here. 

For business owners, they can open databases that track vehicular traffic and pedestrian flow.  With this information readily available, they can easily adjust the movements of their fleets or adjust their stores’ opening and closing time.   

In us, we can feel the surge in migration to urban areas now. In fact, it will swell further even before the middle of the century as hopelessness in the countryside persists.  The difference is, in us, some of our politicians call the problems associated with it as good signs and not doing anything about them a mark of progress.