Constructing the Smart Cities of the Future
By: Mapa Group
Tags: Smart Cities, Industry, Technology, Urban, Construction

The innovative solutions we need from the construction industry to make living in the city smarter is becoming a reality.

Cities are important to all of us. They are hubs of business, innovation, infrastructure and living places for ever-increasing populations in almost every corner of this world. Cities are where businesses grow, economies thrive and social and cultural life flourish against a backdrop of architecture and post-modern design.

The concept of smart cities isn’t new — it’s just that we have reached the right level of technological innovation and utility — to actually develop useful tools that can aid us in the process. To truly develop smart cities, we need to be able to bring together a myriad of visions as to what the smart cities of the future look like, and work towards building them now.

The future of our urban centres faces major challenges. Increasing populations are bringing more severe pollution, traffic congestion and accelerate housing needs, among many more issues. As ever, the construction industry will play a vital part in solving these major challenges.

What is a Smart City?

The future of cities now depends on our success in building smart cities. Smart Cities use the Internet of Things (IoT) to collect data, gather insights, distil data through AI and machine learning. In turn, the tech helps us to make strategic business decisions, so we can service the needs of the city more efficiently.

However, it is also more — the interconnectivity technology affords us — allows everything to communicate through common protocols so that certain decisions can be made by the tech itself, based on pre-programmed conditions. For example, traffic lights in a smart city are aware of the number of cars that are currently on the road and adjust their timings according to reduce traffic. And, this is already on top of the tech we currently have, where GPS systems redirect cars away from traffic hotspots, but they could also redirect electric vehicles of the future to nearby charging stations.

Other examples include waste disposal, where garbage trucks can pick up waste based on need because a smart bin has told the waste management company the bin it’s full. This would be far more useful, as then waste management company collection schedules are driven by tech as opposed to predetermined schedules, which sometimes fail and garbage builds up.

Constructing Smart Cities

Smart cities require clever construction, excellent design and a solid vision. From connecting people with one another via transport systems, preserving the environment with smart waste solutions, and creating residential buildings that allow people to escape the hectic reality of city life, all depends now on the engineering solutions the construction industry can provide in conjunction with the tech industry. This is key to building the first truly smart cities in the world.

Mapa Group, constantly adapting to new technologies, is already responding to this new trend and aiming to be one of the key leaders in constructing the future of smart cities in the world.

A high-tech urban city environment requires smart building technology, using IoT, and data analytics — tech can also help the construction process itself run even more smoothly — but also identify issues before they become one.

The recently completed construction of the SLS Dubai Hotel & Residences by Günal Construction, a subsidiary of Mapa Group, is a milestone achievement for smart buildings. The SLS Dubai Tower is environmentally future-ready, with smart climate controls provided by USA-based company Lutron, reducing our carbon footprint. As an engineering and contracting company, Mapa Group’s subsidiary MNG Tesisat offers turnkey solutions for project design and implementation for building automation, amongst many other technological solutions.

In the field of electronics and engineering, MNG Esmaş has been at the technological forefront of the industry for many years. As a whole, Mapa Group sees a bright future for cities — from achieving universal tech connectivity to achieving net-zero carbon emissions. If you are interested further, we also recommend taking a look at this great explainer video from CNBC about how smart cities and the IoT are about to transform the way urban life forever.

To learn more about Mapa Group, visit our webpage.

https://mapa.group