High-tech solutions can help urban sustainability and growth in the face of environmental pressures and infrastructure needs.
FREMONT, CA: With urbanization rates on the rise and global governments setting ambitious goals to reduce CO2 emissions, there is increasing pressure to make cities more efficient while minimizing their environmental impact.
Cities produce more than two-thirds of global CO2 emissions. Some have accepted the challenge and are employing technology to manage the obstacles of urban sustainability. Greater urban efficiency can increase productivity, reduce costs, and stimulate economic growth.
This trend toward intelligent, sustainable cities is driven by necessity, government support, and technological advancement. The companies that provide solutions should experience secular growth tailwinds.
The difficulties of expanding urbanization
Rising urbanization rates and the numerous challenges they generate are compelling city planners and authorities to adopt smart systems at an increasing rate. Over sixty percent of the world's energy and seventy percent of CO2 emissions are consumed by cities. Given that most governments have pledged to reduce national emissions, reducing the carbon footprint of large cities is crucial. Deteriorating air quality also contributes to poor access to clean water and health issues. Overburdened waste management and perpetual congestion have been pressing issues for a long time, and their importance is growing.
How technology enables the transformation to a Smart City
5G technology is fundamental to Smart Cities. 5G is an advancement over its predecessor: its speed is up to 10 times faster than 4G; it has low latency, meaning there is only a 1 to 1,000-millisecond delay before a data transfer begins following an instruction for its transfer; and it allows millions of devices and sensors to be connected in a one-kilometer square area, whereas 4G only permits a limited number of connections.
Many 5G-related technologies are required to achieve advanced Smart City status. A city might, for instance, install a large number of IoT sensors to detect traffic conditions. After being gathered, the data are transferred via the 5G network. During this process, blockchain technology can provide secure data transmission. Then, traffic authorities use edge computing analytics to analyze data in real-time. AI can efficiently sift through vast amounts of Big Data to predict traffic flows and find practical solutions to congestion, such as rerouting traffic or modifying traffic light sequences. The dataset is then saved to a cloud for future analysis and reference.
A watchful gaze on the city of the future
Numerous governments' recent embrace of the green economy and anticipated new public investments in infrastructure make this an ideal time for cities to invest in their future. It also allows city planners to address the ongoing challenges of urbanization. Large Western legacy cities such as New York and London are under pressure to modernize their aging infrastructure and are moving in this direction.
Nevertheless, given the numerous remaining obstacles, implementations of smart solutions in the West will likely be sporadic. Cities in the West will likely become "smarter" instead of Smart Cities.
Smart Cities have the potential to make a living and working safer, more efficient, and more convenient. Experts believe the industries and businesses that can provide smart city solutions will experience secular, long-term growth.
