Cities as a source of economic growth
Urbanization is the result of economic growth.
Cities are also the symptom of a change in the economic model and, in fact, we can affirm that the predominance of urban life is a very recent phenomenon in economic history, if it has been produced at an accelerated pace and affects countries with very different economic levels.
Today more than half of the world's population lived in cities.
We must not forget that, in the knowledge-based economy, it is the people and not places which produce wealth, so it's required certain key conditions. It is probably easier for big cities to meet these conditions, but those are simply a reflection of the societies that have fed them.
Smart cities and challenges
A 'smart city' is defined as a complex and interconnected system that applies new technologies to manage everything from the correct functioning of public and private transportation systems, to the efficient use of energy or water resources, including protection plans. civil or socio-economic aspects, such as the vitality of public spaces and the commercial fabric, or the communication of incidents to inhabitants and visitors.
Challenges faced are related to the environment, governance, infrastructure and society.
AI and IoT in Smart Cities
At this point, how the technology can help? IoT and AI are in fact the keys.
The idea behind IoT is to enable everyday objects to become smarter and more autonomous by connecting them to the internet and allowing them to interact with each other. This creates an environment where devices can collect data, share it, and make decisions based on the information gathered.
Applied to smart cities, IoT devices could include temperature sensors in subway stations, traffic sensors on roadways, and emissions monitors on city cars and buses. IoT devices collect information and can adjust their environments based on that data or accord to directions from human operators.
On the other side, AI can analyze large amounts of traffic data and predict patterns.
City operations contain many moving parts, which would be an understatement. That is where AI management systems come in. Artificial intelligence can help with the analysis and decision-making needed to manage the hectic day-to-day operations of the world’s busiest cities.
AI smart software agents are excellent for many preventative maintenance use cases. They can monitor different metrics for anomalies and act faster than a human operator ever could. For example, an AI agent could monitor water pressure levels through various systems and identify a leak in city pipes before it causes damage.
So, application examples include among others:
Solving City-wide parking issues using AI & IoT based technologies.
Efficient Transport Management with AI based applications.
Efficiently disposing and managing Solid waste.
Making Cities and Communities safer using AI based applications.
AI based Utilities and Metering solutions.
The 15-minute city strategy
To strength the use of IoT and AI in the Smart city, is recommendable to mix with the 15-minute city strategy in order to make today cities more habitable and sustainable.
The 15-minutes city propose to decentralize the urban planning model so that each citizen has all basic services within a maximum radius of 15 minutes walking or cycling.
It revolves around four dimensions: proximity, to reduce distances to destination; diversity of land use and people to make all relevant destinations more easily reachable; density to ensure a minimum customer pool for local businesses; and ubiquity so that the 15-Minute City is available and affordable for all citizens.
Paris or Barcelona illustrates this concept.
Conclusion
Disruptive technology will help without hesitation to improve live in cities and build smarter urban environments. Those have arrived to stay and grow with us but challenges they must afford by being implemented in smart cities (environment, governance, infrastructure and society) must be faced transversely mixing technology and knowledge.
In that way, the application of IoT and AI in smart cities must elapse together with the application of sustainable urbanization policies. Success is not going to happen without trusted governance and involved citizens.
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