What's a Smart City, Anyway? How Do I Bring My Vision to Life?

Whenever a city improves upon its existing infra­struc­ture to incorporate more data-driven or connected tech­nolo­gies, it becomes “smarter.” This advancement, coupled with the Complete Corridors philosophy, is helping communities solve their tran­scend­ing challenges in equity, sustain­abil­ity and resource management.

We’ve brought together our top experts in water, trans­porta­tion, energy, data and climate resilience and asked them to dream up a world in which cities of the future are optimized for everything from faster bus routes to fully connected microgrids. We’ve broken down their advice in six simple steps. 

Start by reviewing your current policies and procedures to see what quick preven­ta­tive measures you can take to decrease the generation of waste. Encourage your community to make daily changes that promote sustain­abil­ity: taking five-minute showers, using recyclable shopping bags, carpooling, limiting overbuying at the grocery store, building compost piles for food waste, replacing leaky faucets, and other small changes that can add up to a big difference.  

 Trans­porta­tion planning expert Davonna Moore adds that these don’t have to be huge lifts. “For decision-makers, mall-to-medium-scale changes like curb management imple­men­ta­tion and organizing delivery at non-peak times would allow your city to run more efficiently and better poised for future investments,” she says.  

“Think of it like a home security system for your city,” says energy expert Matt Goss, “keeping you safe via 24/7 surveil­lance, alerting you to issues before they arise, providing actionable knowledge to help you make smarter decisions, and performing operational intel­li­gence to improve effi­cien­cies within your system.”

Goss adds this is easier than ever thanks to the tech­no­log­i­cal advance­ments and widespread avail­abil­ity of sensors and other data-collection devices.

 

Jacki Murdock, Complete Corridors expert, explains an infrastrucutre audit will help decision-makers understand where they are in the planning process, assess their current needs, and develop a playbook for further action. Murdock believes success is all about conserving resources while creating a favorable environment for citizens to live, work and play. She says cities should always start by examining their community planning efforts to guarantee they're providing a favorable quality of life without excess disparity.

 

 

“I’d encourage city mayors to look at bus routes, locations of libraries, city centers, houses of worship, schools, medical centers and businesses. Then, look at those routes to several residential sectors of the city—taking into consideration all levels of economic status. Leaders should examine transportation routes and the zoning of housing sectors in mixed-use business areas to ensure easy access to parks, communities, transit stations, and emergency centers,” says program management expert Karen Counes.

 Whether that be with monetary budget or human resources, cities that use their data to take care of their people will be a huge differentiator. 

Lauren Miller, climate resilience leader, shares her experiences. “My city currently uses a crowd­sourc­ing app to gather and distribute information about emergency and non-emergency events in the area—everything from burst pipes to branches in the road. As both a city resident and a resiliency expert, I find this crowd­sourc­ing strategy extremely useful because it gives city leaders the ability to protect residents while also giving every resident a seat at the metaphor­i­cal table.”  

In the short-term, city managers and controllers could institute a tax break or small fee reduction in things like trash disposal fees for community orga­ni­za­tions that practice sustainable behaviors. They also might further define categories like collecting recycled water for lawn care using rain barrels, using greener pesticides for lawn care, or imple­ment­ing de-icing measures that don’t include chemicals or discharge to a potable water supply source.

Longer-term, digital strategist Rajan Ray thinks it’s become crucial for everyone within an orga­ni­za­tional department to ‘speak the same language’ and have access to the same data streams. “This will help level the playing field amidst all the competing priorities and resources,” he says.

Orga­ni­za­tions will also want to be thinking about things like increased cyber­se­cu­rity measures, large-scale smart mobility upgrades (like dynamic pricing, usage-based car insurance and multi-modal planning) and land use opti­miza­tion strategies. And, as Goss points out, truly proactive cities will be up to date on all the robust grant funding oppor­tu­ni­ties that can support their early phases of smart city planning. 

The path to tomorrow’s smart cities might not look the same for every munic­i­pal­ity, but all communities should feel empowered to make steady progress toward a fairer, safer, more efficient and sustainable future.