SMART CITIES
By Dennis O’Sullivan, EMEA
Data Centre Segment Manager
Eaton
www.eaton.com
Smart cities are no longer a thing of the future; they’re
already transforming our urban landscapes, communities
and way of life. Technology has paved the way for new
innovations to make everything from bin collections
to public transportation easier, faster and more
environmentally friendly. And with 70% of the world’s
population due to be concentrated in urban areas by 2050,
these advances will be critical to ensuring that the smart
cities built today will continue to thrive in the future.
Current state of smart cities
A number of countries in Europe and Asia have already
begun to harness the power of technology to drive their
smart city initiatives forward. Barcelona, for example, has
introduced sensors that have been fitted to lamp posts
and street lights across the city to manage the flow of
traffic, road pollution and crowds. Measures have also been
introduced to monitor rainfall and analyse irrigation levels in
the ground so that water can be preserved, especially in case
of a drought.
From Yinchuan’s smart bins and transport systems
to Songdo International Business District, a $35 billion
purpose-built smart city near Seoul in South Korea, Asia –
especially China – has become a melting pot of smart city
projects. Yinchuan, in particular, has put a huge emphasis on
maintaining an efficient and clean waste system throughout
the city. Waste bins automatically compress the rubbish,
disperse the odour using air conditioners and alerts the local
government when it’s time for them to be emptied. They’ve
also done away with plastic payment cards by using facial
recognition technology as currency for public transport.
Residents can even use a mobile app to order groceries that
are then delivered to local fridge lockers. As a result, public
transport queues are reduced, traffic is better managed and
citizens are in more control of their everyday needs.
The problem at hand
Smart city innovation has undeniably paved the way for
the world’s future. Yet we seem to be ignoring one key
underlying issue: how can we effectively power smart cities
far into the future without becoming a drain on the world’s
finite resources? Every tracked journey on public transport,
communication to a home thermostat, or shop p