Smart City Hub

Need access to high-speed, cloud interconnected data? Then head to Adelaide…

The City of Adelaide is getting ready to construct a transformational ten gigabit fibre-optic network that will deliver lightning fast data speeds to the city. In what will be an Australian-first, the network will ‘interconnect’ to cloud-based data centres across the globe, enabling synchronous data speeds that are virtually unachievable with traditional internet services.

To solve modern city problems like traffic congestion and air pollution, city governments need to think different. Here is an eight-minute documentary on how Palo Alto, California, is using technology to create a better life for its citizens. An interview with the smart city leaders of Palo Alto.

In this video the smart city leaders of Palo Alto explain about their smart city initiatives, being Smart City Hub member Jonathan Reichental, ph.D,, CIO of the city, Greg Sharff, Mayor, James Keene, City Manager and Chris Caravalho, IT Project Services Manager.

Singapore and Siemens aim to join forces in a drive to make the Southeast Asian city-state a “smart nation.” As a result, Singapore will be the first country in the world to pilote MindSphere – Siemens’ open, cloud-based operating system for the Internet of Things – to digitalize its infrastructure as much as possible. Siemens is supporting this master plan by setting up a digitalization hub. The hub was inaugurated on July 11, 2017 in parallel events in Singapore and at Siemens’ headquarters in Munich.

Read the full article below:

India has drawn up grand plans and preparations are underway to launch 100 Smart Cities. There is a wide range of expectations from the Union Budget for Smart Cities funding. But, the key element of funding, is yet to be addressed. With the Government funding just about 20 percent ($30 bln.) of the overall funds required for Smart cities, it is imperative to get the private sector engaged early on to fund the remaining 80 percent ($120 bln.). However, this is easier said than done. The article below is based on the situation in India, but a lot of the statements are relevant for cities worldwide.

So, what will it take to get the Private Sector engaged and secure the Smart Cities Program?

With regards to many smart city programs worldwide, the time has come to move from the drawing board to the nuts and bolts of program implementation. A recent report by Deloitte suggests that of the total investment required for Smart Cities only 20% of the funding will be provided by the central and state governments while the bulk of the remaining funds (80%) has to come from the private sector. Given this scenario, will the private sector be able to rise to the occasion and see value in investing such staggering amount of funds? Alternatively, is there a possibility to reduce some of this investment without compromising outcomes?

This is the time to bring in innovation that cuts down cost drastically but at the same time, delivers results.

Here are nine instances of innovation in Smart Cities with minimal costs:

The Future of Privacy Forum has released a new tool for municipal and technology leaders: a visual guide “Shedding Light on Smart City Privacy.” This tool will help citizens, companies, and communities understand the technologies at the heart of smart city and smart community projects – and their potential impact on privacy. It also connects stakeholders with guidance documents, best practices, and other resources designed to help them implement new technologies in privacy-protective ways.

Click around the infographic in the article below to see the many ways data can be used, the privacy issues, and solutions.

City leaders play a vital role in shaping the development trajectory of their city; they set a far-sighted aspirational goal for the city and drove a single-minded and practical approach towards the vision. The governance structure and the extent of a leader’s or mayor’s empowerment definitely have an impact on a city’s leadership. However, important characteristics that civic leaders need to exhibit, such as pragmatism, businessfriendliness and a can-do attitude, remain consistent irrespective of the governance structure.

Leaders need to:

* Develop a culture and mindset of agility among employees
* Promote the measurement of performance
* Create structures that reward impacts on the urban environment (rather than rewarding outputs)

But there is more. Read the full article below. Written by was Alice Charles, Cities & Urban Development Expert at World Economic Forum.

India has for long been known for fragmented technology deployment that has lead to islands of automation and pockets of excellence. But when it comes to Smart Cities, a structured approach is paramount to Smart Cities seeing the light of day in India.

With states moving forward with their individual programs for creation of Smart Cities, there are a variety of approaches, at play currently.