£9.9bn
The estimated worth of London’s
smart cities markets by 2020,
according to a report carried out by ARUP in 2016
News from Westminster
Examining the development of smart cities technology
in the UK in the context of the Digital Strategy
O
n 11 July 2017, the Westminster
Forum hosted a meeting to
discuss the development,
implementation and policy
priorities surrounding UK
Smart Cities. The session was chaired by
Iain Stewart MP, Member, Smart Cities
All-Party Parliamentary Group.
Gary Barnett, Head of Enterprise
Advisory, Current Analysis, described the
UK’s smart city movement as somewhat
stalled but regrouping. As James Hope,
Solicitor, Wiggin LLP noted, frustrations
rise when forward thinking goals, aimed
at rapidly evolving infrastructure within
a short timescale, are hindered by their
sheer scale, associated costs and resource
demands. A trough of disillusionment
last year, caused by the realisation that
sprinkling technology around the urban
landscape would not, in fact, deliver a
magic solution as promised, is now being
counterbalanced by an increasing number
of positive examples such as Milton
Keynes and proposals from cities as
diverse as Bristol, Ipswich, and Aberdeen.
Barnett also noted that the UK Catapults
are a well-positioned resource able to
support these projects moving forward.
D E R I V I N G VA LU E F R O M M 2 M
Collaboration is key to bringing data silos
together. The current focus on specific
technologies, such as smart transport,
smart energy, and smart health, creates
technological innovations that are at risk
of long-term incompatibility within an
all-encompassing network. Miranda
Sharp, Head of Smart Cities Practice,
Ordnance Survey, suggested that,
moving forward, localities might better
derive value from M2M technologies if
they sought to develop a functioning
geographic information system that
enables a functioning economy. She
referenced Max Weber’s ideal
Occidental city, a community whose
autonomy is derived from the close
association of its residents, with an
enduring potential for urban freedom,
civil liberty and democratisation.
Data is the new oil, yet data must
be trustworthy and used wisely. Nick
Chrissos, Head of Innovation Technology
at Cisco, noted the importance of giving
the control of data back to people.
General Data Protection Regulation
(GDPR) will require individuals to retain
control of all data sources, as well as have
R e a d o n l i n e at u k s pa . o r g . u k / b r e a k t h r o u g h
a firm understanding of how it is
being used if permissions are granted.
Academics such as Professor Balbir Barn,
Deputy Dean, Middlesex University, are
investigating the ethical pitfalls of open
data, where routine data collection
results in both accidental and explicit
surveillance of citizens, while industry
representatives suggest they will be
cautious in future development for fear
of tripping up on regulation.
CALL TO ARMS
Ronald Hendrikx, Partner, Bird & Bird,
believes that data is for sharing,
especially if it becomes information,
and raised a call to arms, asking anyone
interested in accelerating the market for
cleaner, greener cities to contribute to
the SustainableSmartCities.org forum,
bringing together all those providing
smart solutions to the environmental
challenges faced by cities in the UK. ■
Share your best practice and case
studies on the Environmental
Industry Commission’s
SustainableSmartCities.org
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