In a recent speech by Digital Economy Minister Ed Vaizey, he highlighted that by 2050, over seven billion people will live in urban areas. In order for future generations to live well, he explained that we need cities to more efficiently manage things such as transport, water, energy and waste.
Whilst local councils understand the benefits of becoming ‘smart,’ many do not know how to go about getting there. In fact, a recent report form Vodafone found that local councils could save billions by implementing smart city systems, but they first need to be made more aware of the possibilities of delivering better and more cost-efficient public services.
Gartner’s recent report on smart cities also claimed that they will use 1.1 billion connected things this year, rising to 9.7 billion by 2020 – the opportunity for councils is enormous.
Currently, the Government is committed to giving cities and regions the power to make their own decisions, without imposing a single approach to the UK’s towns and cities. But city leaders have many demands to meet, while finding new ways to deliver services and with the added pressure to make cost savings. With new technologies like the Internet of Things having a massive impact on citizen’s lives, there are still concerns that need to be addressed such as security, recognising how services are delivered, as well as understanding which areas will give local authorities the best return on their investment.
With over 433 independent local governments, many local authorities do not know how to approach how to become a ‘smart city’. And as no one town or city is alike, even those that are beginning to digitally transform, such as Milton Keynes with the MK:Smart project, Bristol’s smart city developments or Open Glasgow, each is taking a different approach.
The transformation to ‘smart’ affects the whole ecosystem of a town. For example, Milton Keynes is using smart wheelie bins that send messages to rubbish collectors when they are full. They also link up to intelligent routing systems to help the collectors get there more quickly. These connected sensors are designed to not only make lives easier for residents, but improve waste management efficiency, reduce the cost of waste collection against conventional pick-up rotas and, of course, keep streets clean. But whilst towns are slowly adopting a smarter approach to services, there is still a lot more they can be doing.
Innovative cities in Ireland, for example, are transforming emergency services by using sensors to detect approaching emergency vehicles. These then send signals to immediately turn traffic lights red, provide a quicker and safer path for emergency vehicles to pass - helping to save lives.
Whilst there are industry bodies like the Government Digital Service for central government to help with this digital transformation – currently, there is no such support for local governments. Part of the problem could be due to its finance system being one of the most centralised in the world – meaning they do not have the autonomy and flexibility they need to make sure public money is spent on the things that matter in their area.
Government and other authority bodies will first and foremost need leaders who can recognise these opportunities, and have the powers to help deliver a smarter town or city in the future. There are a number of pilots being sponsored by central government at the moment, but local authorities need to understand the most cost effective projects to support their own smart city agenda – whether that’s reducing staffing costs, cutting down on waste, or improving the services provided to the public. Even though there are lots of grants available, ensuring teams have the right skills is also essential.
With the upcoming Spending Review and significant cuts in funding expected, towns and cities must start to adopt a digital mind-set in order to become more efficient and save on costs. This starts with having citizen buy in. What’s encouraging to see is that 77 percent of people living in urban areas said they would support their council’s decision to invest in the Internet of Things to improve public services. This is where engagement with the public is crucial.
By informing the public where there are problems, citizens can be involved in helping to resolve the issues from the start, and means that these concerns can be dealt with in a more targeted manner. Instead of waiting on city dwellers to inform the council of a problem, councils can now be proactive and take action before the expense starts to build up.
However, in order to stay on top of this and take advantage of the longer-term benefits, local authorities need to begin putting the smart infrastructure in place. By making better use of data and technology locally, authorities can deliver local growth and a better quality of life, and at the same time help devolution work in practice. Whilst this is a step-by-step process and local authorities need to have funds behind it, future infrastructure must be a major priority for the government to enable future growth.
Councils need to start gradually deploying these smart technologies including things such as smart parking, smart lighting and smart rubbish bins in order to collect the data needed to improve public services. By doing so, it will reduce the cost of maintenance for town centres, making savings in the long-term.
Smart cities are not just about cutting costs of services, but providing more intelligence to provide a better quality of life for citizens. Having the ability to connect people, places and things, by using technology like the Internet of Things, will help enhance efficiencies, improve on cost savings, and deliver better public services – impacting citizen’s daily lives for the better. By installing technologies across different towns and cities in the UK, it will help to not only prove, but encourage, wider scale deployment across the nation.
