Smart Cities: A Global Perspective
Authors: Hayat Parvez 
Published: June 2016

The impact of globalisation and industrialisation has been a subject for research around the globe due to the huge paradigm shift caused by them. Such phenomena are also a cause of concern as cities consume close to three-quarters of the world’s natural resources and generate three-quarters of its pollution and waste. There is a need for the cities to get smarter through the application of innovative solutions to address large-scale urbanisation challenges and find new ways for creating liveable, competitive and self-reliant cities.

In this direction, the advent of smart cities could be a much larger wave of transformation which is about to splash the entire world. The precise content, feature and nature of smart cities vary from country to country, depending upon geographical condition, ecosystems, resource availabilities and major challenges being faced. Pilot projects have been taken up in almost all parts of the world to emulate such cities. Many countries have rolled out grand plans for the development of both greenfield and brownfield smart cities. There have been several agitations against such extensive infiltration of information technologies in societies due to the fear of cyberattacks, privacy threats, etc. However, societies have decided to go ahead because of the greater advantages as well as necessity of smarter systems for ensuring a quality life for citizens. The revolution of upcoming smart cities would thus be one of the most holistic movements, which would require extensive participation from almost all fronts of the society, thus resulting in a truly substantive development.

Due to enhanced dependency on data sensors, automation technologies, information and communication technologies, software analytical applications, etc., any disruption/disaster may disintegrate the whole string of services and jeopardise the smart city ecosystem. Further, high concentration of population and economic activities make smart cities vulnerable to severe damage in terms of human lives as well as financial breakdown. Therefore, resilient measures for various natural and man-made disasters need to be taken care of. Major portions of all urban areas on earth are coastal/riverside, exposing them to sea/river-level rise and storm surges. Climate impacts such as cyclones, floods and droughts have financial impacts, with major disruption to business operations and city finances. This necessitates that at the onset of the development of smart city, concomitant actions are needed to make them resilient to disaster as well.

This article introduces the concept of smart city and discusses its various attributes. Technology span required for smart city development has been analysed and presented. Some of the global initiatives have been discussed, along with the Government of India’s ambitious programme of establishing 100 smart cities on a fast track. The planning and prioritisation strategies necessary for the success and sustainability of such a programme are discussed. To be really intelligent, cities must also consider the impacts of climate change. Therefore, disaster risk reduction is one of the key aspects in smart city development. Accordingly, vulnerabilities associated with smart cities have been listed with a holistic and far-sighted approach. These help in identification of mechanisms, policies and practices to be taken up by all the stakeholders to ensure that the smart cities serve their purpose of socio-economic development and citizen-centric governance, instead of procedural governance, without posing a threat to security, stability and integrity of the individuals and the society as a whole. The article also highlights the need for establishing a central command control centre and the shift in administrative procedures as well as emergency governance structures to accommodate the modern needs of involving citizens extensively in building these cities, not only literally but also figuratively.