How smart cities will use IoT

Futurists, tech visionaries and urban stakeholders have been talking about “smart cities” for a number of years now, as though they’re the product of a simple recipe: Take a city, add the internet of things, and voila — smart city!

 

Needless to say, it’s hardly that simple. Smart cities will, indeed, require connected technology to deliver on their promise. However, they aren’t created just by association with technology, but rather by intentionally applying four core principles to all civic initiatives powered by that technology.

 

Before we get into the how of developing smart cities along those principles, though, we should explore exactly what they are and why today’s stakeholders should be working to bring them about.

 

A smart city leverages the internet of things for the distinct purpose of delivering services sustainably and efficiently without overtaxing its resources. It accomplishes this by prioritizing those elements that cover functions that are absolutely necessary — emergency services, for example — and virtualizing the supporting elements that force people to perform mundane tasks but don’t contribute to their work or enjoyment.

 

The classic example is the parking meter: give people an app that shows where available spaces are and allows them to pay digitally, and they will never again have to drive in circles hunting for an open spot, only to discover they don’t have any coins to feed the meter.

 

You can read the rest of the article featured  in Tech Target IoT Agenda here: https://internetofthingsagenda.techtarget.com/blog/IoT-Agenda/How-smart-cities-will-use-IoT