What is a smart city?
What is a smart city?
The term smart city is widely used and recognised, but the understanding of that term varies. A real, universal definition of what a smart city is, is still under construction and developing all the time. It ranges from city to city, and country to country, depending on the level of development and desire to reform traditional life.
Defining ‘smart city’
The British Standards Institute (BSI) defines a smart cities as ‘the effective integration of physical, digital and human systems in the built environment to deliver a sustainable, prosperous and inclusive future for its citizens’.
This attempt to give meaning to an entirely subjective term is a poor one at best. It probably provides more confusion than answers. For example, how does this definition differ from that of an eco-city, if at all? What is effective integration? Is it the correct installation of smart city infrastructure? Or does it mean its effectiveness over time? If so, over what time period is its effectiveness being measured? And don’t get us started on the definitions of sustainability that could be used here. Like with smart cites, there isn’t one universal answer.
The BSI definition of a smart city is just as subjective as the term itself. Different people can answer all of these resultant questions in various ways. This will lead to the implementation of ‘smart cities’ across the world that all go under the same label, but behave and look completely different.
Other approaches
Other definitions of a smart cities take a more data-driven approach. IBM defines a smart city as one that makes ‘optimal use of all the interconnected information available today to better understand and control its operations and optimise the use of limited resources’. Cisco defines a smart city as one which adopts ‘scalable solutions that take advantage of information and communications technology (ICT) to increase efficiencies, reduce costs, and enhance the quality of life’.
It is unsurprising that two huge tech companies both interpret the term ‘smart city’ as one primarily focused on the implementation of technology for improvement. This interpretation seeks to further their business motives while loosely adhering to similar themes found in most definitions: efficiency, technology, and improvement in quality of life. Although, IBM skips over the latter entirely. The terms sustainability, quality of life, standard of living, and infrastructure may appear in various definitions. But, it depends on who is doing the defining and what they are aiming to achieve.
What does this mean for construction?
So the question still remains – what are smart cities? But this hasn’t stopped governments and companies alike building them across continents. If you do a quick internet search of the top five smart cities in the world, there is a list: Singapore, Barcelona, London, San Francisco, and Oslo. If these polluting cities, with archaic, unmalleable infrastructure are considered smart, perhaps the construction of a smart city shouldn’t be defined by a set list of factors. Instead, maybe a smart city is one that is making an active effort to become more efficient, more sustainable, and better to live in, which is an ongoing process. This leaves a smart city open to the interpretation that they are already receiving while creating a base understanding of what the term means.
Inscape would like to be a part of this process. We want the construction industry to focus on building better cities, and that starts with a better construction team. Inscape will stand by your side at every stage of the construction process, aiding you with our impeccable manufacturing services, so you always have everything you need to build the best. Get in touch with us today on 0845 230 8565.