Some say connectivity is the heart of a Smart City; others say government and many point to technology as the heart of a Smart City. The very wise say that citizens are the heart of a Smart City. I agree with the latter, but if
Some say connectivity is the heart of a Smart City; others say government and many point to technology as the heart of a Smart City. The very wise say that citizens are the heart of a Smart City. I agree with the latter, but if I think about the first thing a Smart City would break down without, I turn to Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). Don’t get me wrong-without power there will be chaos and without IoT, the circular economy of a Smart City becomes a linear economy almost instantly. Nevertheless, without the safe movement of people, goods and services, all the above gets outright dangerous quickly.
First, let’s define what a Smart City will encompass. The Smart Cities Council “envisions a world where digital technology and intelligent design have been harnessed to create smart, sustainable cities with high-quality living and high-quality jobs.” The Smart City concept consists of three concepts including:
- Livability to provide clean, healthy living conditions without pollution and congestion;
- Workability allows cities to provide the enabling infrastructure — energy, connectivity, computing, essential services — to compete globally for high-quality jobs;
- and Sustainability provides services without stealing from future generations.
Overall, building a Smart City aims to provide seamless connectivity, improved systems delivery, and a better, more equitable quality of life for citizens. This is why the Smart City Pavilion at the ITS World Congress in Montreal is so intriguing to me. The Smart Cities Pavilion will be the epicenter of the ITS World Congress in Montréal and showcase how cities across the globe are using technology to create their vision of next generation integrated mobility solutions in urban settings.
The Smart City Pavilion will focus on how Intelligent Transportation is the heart of Smart Cities’ critical infrastructure, including traffic management, roadways, rail, parking, bike share, transit, car 