How Smart Cities are the Way to Improve Urban Dwellers’ Quality of Life
More than half of the world is living in cities. And by the end of 2050, we can expect another 2.5 billion new residents to our cities through urbanization, according to the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).
There’s an increase in the need for more efficient, convenient, and improved infrastructure that can deliver a better quality of life for the residents– but doing so while ensuring that environmental, social, and economic sustainability is paramount.
The good news for Indians is that the process has already begun with the National Smart Cities Mission taken up by the Government of India, which was initially launched in 2015. As of 2023, it has already completed 72% (5666 projects) out of a total of 7864 projects undertaken in 100 cities across the country. With the deadline for the Smart Cities Mission extended until June 2024 by the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry, we can anticipate the successful implementation of these changes in all 100 cities by the new deadline. (data source: SmartCities.gov.in)
What is a smart city?
Smart Cities are designed keeping in mind three key factors, one, the ability to attract investments ; second, creating tourism; and third, providing a better quality of life to the citizens by providing more developed social infrastructure through better hospitals, schools and colleges and generating more employment opportunities locally.
These three factors serve as the base upon which the role of technology comes into the picture. A smart city uses information and communication technologies (ICT) and other means to improve the efficiency of urban operations and services, quality of life, and competitiveness. Doing so while ensuring that the needs of the present and future generations with respect to economic, social, and environmental are all met by the city itself.
Key Features
There are some key features that distinguish a city from a smart city, like guaranteed electricity supply, including power supply from solar panels, adequate water supply with wastewater recycling, proper sanitation, including solid waste management, rainwater harvesting, IT connectivity and digitalization, pedestrian-friendly pathways, smart metering, while encouraging non-motorized transport like walking and cycling, intelligent traffic management, creation of walkable localities, amongst other things.
Is Implementing Smart Technologies Expensive?
Smart city projects require the usage of technologies and data integration platforms to control, monitor, and optimize everything right, from something as basic as public transportation to water and energy. Given that smart cities rely heavily on technologies, the return on investment (ROI) for the government tends to be really high.
The conversation for smart cities today comes from the McKinsey report that cities using smart technology could substantially reduce crime and improve emergency services. Incidents of assault, robbery, and burglary could all be lowered by 30-40 percent.
Smart systems can also aid in cutting short emergency response times by 20 to 35 percent because smart systems can optimize call centers and field operations as well, which gives control over traffic signals that, in turn, will provide emergency vehicles a clear driving path, added the report.
The report further stated that fatalities (from homicides, road traffic, and fires) could potentially be reduced by 8 to 10 percent by utilizing a range of these smart applications to their maximum effect. While using a pay-as-you-throw digital tracking application can reduce the volume of solid waste per capita by 10 to 20 percent as well.
Smart City Hyderabad: The Objectives
Under the Smart City mission of Hyderabad, these are the following objectives that are to be undertaken:
• To encourage citizens for commercial and industrial events and ensure that tourists have access to the internet, the government is planning to make the city the first Wi-Fi-enabled city under the project ‘Hi-Fi.’
• Under the project ‘copless society’ installation of 10,000 CCTV cameras in Hyderabad is to be done. At the same time, Intelligent Traffic Control System, monitoring and collaborative tracking e-challan, Hawk Eye Solution, and city supervision through software applications will be done.
• Emphasizing social development by enhancing education and health care through digitalization .
• Meeting the requirements of the citizens of Hyderabad by establishing and regulating international standards.
With the city and the country undergoing a process of development, Aurobindo Realty is spearheading the change in Hyderabad with our luxury apartments in Hyderabad in HITEC City. All our projects follow the norm of smart living by allowing Wi-Fi connectivity throughout the premises, ever-present surveillance of CCTV cameras, clubhouses for social development, and a plethora of other world-class lifestyle amenities necessary for sustainable luxury.
