More Efficient Cities
Intelligent cities create more effective urban systems capable of addressing contemporary challenges and urban problems. They create more innovative and competitive cities, based on knowledge clusters, people-led innovation, and global networking; offering higher capacity of monitoring and management of environmental issues; improved city transportation; more secure urban spaces. This greater effectiveness is based on solutions /platforms integrating human, collective and artificial intelligence (in other words urban activities, institutional capacity, and IT). Some major fields of intelligent city activation are:
| ------- Innovation economy ------- | ------- Urban infrastructure ----- | ----------- Governance ----------- |
|---|---|---|
| - Innovation in industries, clusters, districts of a city | - Transport | - Administration services to the citizen |
| - Knowledge workforce: Education and employment | - Energy / Utilities | - Participatory and direct democracy |
| - Creation of knowledge-intensive companies | - Protection of the environment / Safety | - Services to the citizen: Quality of life |
University research labs have developed prototypes and solutions for intelligent cities. MIT Smart Cities Lab focuses upon intelligent, sustainable buildings, mobility systems (GreenWheel Electric Bicycle, Mobility-on-Demand, Citycar, Wheel Robots); the IntelCities research consortium developed solutions for electronic government, planning systems and citizen participation; URENIO has developed a series of intelligent city platforms for the innovation economy focusing on strategic intelligence, technology transfer, collaborative innovation, and incubation, while is offering, through its portal, a global watch on intelligent cities research and planning ; the Smart Cities Academic Network is working on e-governance and e-services in the North Sea region.
Large IT and telecommunication companies such as CISCO, IBM, MS have developed new solutions and initiatives for intelligent cities as well. CISCO, launched the Global Intelligent Urbanization initiative to help cities around the world using the network as the fourth utility for integrated city management, better quality of life for citizens, and economic development. Microsoft is working with Coventry University and Birmingham City Council on the Intelligent City Proof of Concept which is an interoperable technology platform focusing on transport. IBM announced its SmarterCities to stimulate economic growth and quality of life in cities and metropolitan areas with the activation of new approaches of thinking and acting in the urban ecosystem.
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