WHY SMART CITIES STILL AREN’T

WORKING FOR US AFTER 20 YEARS AND

HOW WE CAN FIX THEM

URBAN DESIGN 1Nguyen Hoang MinhXZDV13

ConclusionWhy smart cities are a political leadership challenge

Why we are not really

investing in smart

cities

4 ways to get on with

building Smart Cities

How to lead a smart city

The goal of a smart city is to invest in technology in order to create economic, social and environmental improvements. Because Smart Cities are usually defined by the role of technology in city systems rather than by the role of policy in shaping the outcomes of investment – the idea has not gained interest and support from the highest level of political leadership

The ordinary people who vote for politicians, pay taxes, buy products, use public services and make businesses workare not even aware of the idea, let alone supportive of it

WHY WE ARE NOT REALLY INVESTING IN SMART CITIES

- The investment streams are largely limited to corporate research and development funds, charitable or socially-focused grants > not enough

- Only investing in technology to develop new products and services that consumers want to buy > likely to reduce our life expectancy and social engagement

- The similarly massive investments continually made in property development and infrastructure in cities are not creating investments in digital technology in the public interest

We’ll only build smart cities when we shape the market for investing in technology for cities services and infrastructures Some businesses have the scale, vision and stability to make more direct links in their strategies and decision-making to thedependency between their success as businesses and the health of the society in which they operate – Unilever is a notable and high profile example.

A leadership imperative from the past

- Historically, there is plenty ofevidence that investments in technology and infrastructure can create great harm if market forces alone are left to shape them.

- Centre for Cities explored the previous century of urban development in the UK. They concluded that the single most important influence on the success of cities was their ability to provide their citizens with the right skills and opportunities to find employment, as the skills required in the economy.

WHY SMART CITIES ARE A POLITICAL LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE? Approaching “Smart Cities” not as a technology invention but as a political and economic issue made urgent by imperative challenges to society.

- why focus on cities? - why focus on “bottom-up” innovation? - why focus on people?

4 WAYS TO GET ON WITH BUILDING SMART CITIES

- Include smart city criteria in the procurement of services by local authorities to encourage competitive innovation from private sector

- Encourage development opportunities to include “smart” infrastructure.

- Commit to the entrepreneurial programmes

- Enable and support social enterprise

HOW TO LEAD A SMART CITY

Commitment Collaboration Consistency Community

RE-STATING WHAT SMART CITIES IS ABOUT

A Smart City or community is one which successfully harnesses the most powerful tool of our age – digital technology – to create opportunities for its citizens; to address the most severe acute challenges the human race has ever faced, arising from global urbanisation and population growth and man-made climate change; and to address the persistent challenge of social and economic inequality. The policies and investments needed to do this demand the highest level of political leadership at a local level where regional challenges and resources are best understood, and particularly in cities where they are most concentrated. Those policies and investments will only be successful if they are enabling, not directing; if they result from the actions of leaders who are listening and responding to the people and communities they serve; and if they shape an urban environment and digital economy in which individual citizens, businesses and communities have the skills, opportunities and resources to create their own success on their own terms.