The Use of Technology in Cities-Free-Samples-Myassignmenthelp.com

Question: "What are the Sustainability Potential and Planning Implications of technology and/or other Disruptive forms of Smart Practice in Cities?" Answer: Introduction A smart city can be defined as an urban area which implements multiple types of electronic data collection sensors for sending the information to assets and resources which can be utilised in managing them efficiently. The data is collected from numerous sources such as devices, citizens, and assets. After that such information is analysed and processed to control and monitor various systems in the city such as transport, water supply networks, power plants, law enforcement, schools, waste management, hospitals, libraries, and other community services. The smart city concept uses various physical devices along with information and communication technology to connect a network throughout the city to efficiently optimise the operations and services and also connect citizens to them. The government initiates various programs to shape the change in diverse urban areas and formulate sustainable planning policies to concentrate on strategic issues. To establish and maintain a smart city, the government develops various concepts and issues relating to mobility, non-humans, dwelling, sharing economy and technology. These concepts are used in finding new sustainable practices which can be established in a smart city. This essay will focus on providing the sustainable potential and design implication of technology and many other disruptive methods of smart practices in cities. Further, the essay will discuss the convergence of technology and different economics to create a number of new procedures of mobility and urban living. Sustainable Potential and Planning Implication of Technology and Other Disruptive Forms of Smart Practices in Cities The importance and advancement of information and communication technologies (ICT) in previous few decades has assisted in creating the concept of the smart city. According to Hollands (2008), the definition of smart city describes it as the ability of a city to respond as promptly as possible to the necessity of citizens. The core systems of a city profoundly influence the quality of life of people; the core systems include education, transport, public health safety and the government facilities. These factors are necessary to be analysed while formulating the policies of a smart city. As per the research of World Health Organisation, the urban population of the world is accountable for 54 percent in 2014, which has been increased from 34 percent in 1960 (WHO, 2017). As per the prediction of United Nations, by 2017 a large number of populations in less developed countries will live in urban cities, and the worlds population could contribute another 2.5 billion individuals by 2050 t o the urban society (UN, 2014). Cocchia (2014) provided that the growth in population and advancement in information and communication technology has provided the various concept of the smart city to improve the quality of life in urban cities. In the smart city, the government adds physical sensors and other technology to a single network in the core areas of a city to collect the necessary information that can assist in providing better services to the peoples. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is used in enhancing the performance, quality and interactivity of the services available in urban cities and it also reduces the expenses and consumption to increase the contact between government and peoples. The smart city provides real-life responses to the peoples which improve simple transaction of citizens with the city and its practices. As per Nam and Pardo (2011), a combination of social requirements, economic growth, and human aspiration is implemented to create a smart city culture that formulates the projects and programs for smart cities in many countries. There are various attributes which describe an urban city as smart, such as ICT, efficient public services, safety security, sufficient social capital, transit planning, and many others. The information and communication technology assist in enabling smart public services. The integration and convergence of multiple technologies that are easily accessible over various platforms and devices play a pivotal role in providing transparency, speed, access, and participation in public services. The ICT devices collect the data of users and automatically perform the public services activities which save both time and money of the citizens. Chourabi et al. (2012) stated that using of smart meters, energy conservation, effluent recycling, renewable energy, water harvesting and appropriated solid waste disposal system are few of the hallmarks of a smart city which can be defined as efficient public services. Another critical characteristic of a smart city concept includes the use of public and private partnership to efficiently deliver facilities and utilities as per the provided service level standards. From the perspective of smart city citizens, safety and security are one of the prime aspects. The use of security gadgets such as video cameras, installation of surveillance, brightly lit areas, identify verification access, and rapid feedback in case of emergency are the primary requirements. The financial sustainability which provides monetary independence to the peoples, such as taxes, ads payments, and many others, is also essential for the people of the smart city. As per Washburn et al. (2009), the transit planning in the smart city include various environmental solutions such as bicycle paths, walk to work and convenient public transport. Other than attributes mentioned above there are few more characteristics of the smart city such as sufficient social capital, citizen participation in government activities, green environments and minimum population criteria. The government is responsible for making provision regarding these services to push the development of smart cities. The smart cities are heavily reliant on the technology; there is multiple real-life technological combinations infrastructure available to build the concept of the smart city. The digital city combines the services of communication, infrastructure, and innovation to connect communities through t he broadband network to meet the internet requirement of citizens, corporations, and government. Few examples include free wife availability in a store, public service officers, railway stations, and many other public places. According to Kyriazis et al. (2013), the smart city also incorporates real and virtual reality in the public service, but filling the gap of physical distance is difficult to manage. The technology is not advance enough to implement entirely virtual public services in smart cities yet. A complex system of technology is establishing in a smart city to combine information with intelligence; the data collected by a human is used in providing automated services and research procedure. Another primary framework of a smart city includes a ubiquitous environment that means people can access any public service through any device. A U-city extension is further applied to the smart city to establish an accessible infrastructure that allows peoples to interconnect easily. As per Maddox (2016), various technologies can be used to transform a city into smart city, but many experts believe that the most crucial area is transportation system. Smart transportation system establishes a harmony between the modern technologies and development of the city. The educational grade of inhabitants in significantly vital since it represents an integral part of future growth, the smart devices will influence the method of receiving, understanding, using and learning by users. The informed citizens will be able to learn and utilise the technical system of the smart city quickly, and they will also assist in the development of the city. Many counties have implemented the concept of the smart city by identifying three distinct levels which provide them multiple opportunities. The first step includes the establishment of physical telecommunication network infrastructure which comprises wireless servers and routers for operating such infrastructure. The second phase consists installation of various applications throughout operations in the city, such as traffic control or monitoring services. The final step is based on connectivity or ubiquitous of distinct technologies with each other. The concept of ubiquitous was provided by South Korea, which defines a new model of a sustainable economy based upon the efficient utilisation of transportation, natural resources, and communication solution. To create a ubiquitous city or U-city, various smart solutions are necessary for multiple problems relating to traffic, water, and healthcare. According to Gil-Castineira et al. (2011), many countries have started to implement the concept of U-city such as Oulu city in Finland. Every information system of the city is linked, and all the systems are connected to one information structure by the installation of various technologies such as wireless networks, automation systems, and many others. There are several other examples of real-life smart cities such as Singapore, Barcelona, London, San Francisco, and Oslo. These cities use various ICT, monitoring and Wi-Fi technology in enhancing the efficiency of their public services. For example, in Singapore, multiple sensors are installed throughout the city which catches people smoking or littering in the public areas. As per Caragliu, Del Bo and Nijkamp (2013), Singapore is also working on virtual reality technology by enabling city planners to run virtual tests to create Virtual Singapore. According to Bakici, Almirall and Wareham (2013), in Barcelona, the sensors monitors and operates air quality, noise, smart parking, and smart streetlights, the city is also expanding its free Wi-Fi networks in public spaces. London is making available data from their smart city initiative via its London Datastore; also they have installed smart parking in the Westminster neighborhood area. San Francisco is the hub for modern start-ups, and the city also provides various services to ensure that they receive all the necessary resources, such as efficient public transportation, free Wi-Fi networks, smart parking and many others. Oslo has installed information technology to curb greenhouse gas emission and consumption; the city has planned to change 50 percent of its transport system and 95 percent neutral climate by 2020 (Roche et al., 2012). While building a smart city is an interesting and exciting concept, there are a significant number of problems faced by city planners while formulating the plan for a smart city. According to Zeine (2017), one of the primary challenges of a smart city is sensory overload; these cities are based on data which is collected through multiple sensors installed throughout the city. The street lights, building, and roads are connected with each other to measure temperature, air quality, traffic, infrastructure integrity and many others. All these sensors require a large number of batteries to work correctly, and the US alone buys 3 billion batteries a year but to implement smart city concept they will need around 1 trillion batteries. The first problem of smart city is powering the billions of sensors. The smart cities also have lack of efficient administration and security guidelines are a major threat to this concept. As per Vanolo (2014), the smart city concept requires transparency in the allocation and use of resources which is challenging managing in cities with large population since it increases the chances of misuse. The construction and installation of smart devices throughout the city are way more expensive than general construction. The cost of rehabilitation, infrastructure, maintenance, and repair is significantly high in smart cities. The overall cost of living in smart city is also expensive which causes discrimination with the poor section of society. The digital divide is also an age gap and gendered divide since most of the old peoples and women in developing countries are not able to use technologies due to social and economic inequalities. There are several other issues such as financial requirements, cyber-attacks, culture issues, human resource managing, municipality implementation and many others. The government can introduce various programs and initiative to address the challenges of smart cities. The effective implementation of smart city concept requires contribution and participation of the public. Dameri (2013) provided that the smart cities should encourage the citizens to engage in the operational activities of cites and also provide their genuine feedback. The problem of the digital gap can be removed by achieving equality for women in cities. The government should introduce strict regulations for the establishing gender equality policies and also establish training programs for the old peoples. The problem of security can be reduced by developing strict cybersecurity protocols such as firewalls systems in sensors, encryption of data while transferring, Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) and many others. The problem of power is difficult to overcome due to lack of resources, but modernisation of technology is the only way to overcome this challenge. The government shou ld invest heavily in research to find the solution for efficient power usage. The case mentioned above studies show that the information and communication technology is one of the primary requirements of building a smart city. According to Haidine et al. (2016), the ICT allow different functions of cites to connect with each other an overall improve their efficiency and working. The services such as transportation, weather, lights, data hubs, and many other can be allowed to connect with each other and send and receive the data as well. These smart devices change and update their information as per the change in environment or usage. For example, the sensors available on streetlights in San Francisco, Barcelona and London perform various actions such as monitoring the foot traffic, automatically switching lights on off and smart parking. Jin et al. (2014) stated that the data through the street lights are sent to a parking monitoring hub which provides the information of free parking spot the drivers. The concept of smart parking is achieved by the convergenc e of ICT, monitoring and sensor technology. As per Su, Li, and Fu (2011), the real-life models for smart cities show the importance of smart transportation in transforming a smart city concept into reality. The ICT also assist government into proving smart transportation system. In cities such as Oslo, Singapore, and San Francisco, the public transportation system is connected through ICT system which allows it to share different information with each other. Such information is easily available to the citizens through mobile application or data hubs available throughout the city. As per Lombardi et al. (2012), the ICT allow sustainability potential which can assist in proper allocation and protection of resources, the implementation of technology in cities help in the protection of environmental resources. For example, digitalisation of services and government functions reduce the usage of paper which saves trees, and use of biodegradable products reduces the ecological wastage. The use of green and efficient transportation sy stem lessen the carbon footprint of the cities which improve the quality of air and water Conclusion In conclusion, an urban area which implements technology to improve the working and efficiently of public services is called the smart city. In smart cities, the government applies technology in various facilities such as transportation, municipality, hospitals, schools and other public services. The government faces multiple challenges while transforming a city into smart city such as lack of admiration, the requirement of power, high cost, literacy gap and many others. The government can use modern technology such as information system network, effective communication channels, public literacy programs and many others to address the problems of the smart city. 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