A Smart City is an urban development vision to integrate Information and Communicatio Technology (ICT) and Internet of Things (IoT) technology in a secure fashion to manage a city’s assets.

These assets include local schools, departments’ information systems, libraries, transportation systems, hospitals, power plants, water supply networks, waste management, law enforcement, and other community services.

Major technological, economic and environmental changes have generated interest in smart cities, including climate change, economic restructuring, the move to online retail and entertainment, ageing populations, urban population growth and pressures on public finances.

A Smart City is promoted to use urban informatics and technology to improve the efficiency of services.

ICT allows city officials to interact directly with the community and the city infrastructure and to monitor what is happening in the city, how the city is evolving, and how to enable a better quality of life.

Through the use of sensors integrated with real-time monitoring systems, data are collected from citizens and devices – then processed and analyzed. The information and knowledge gathered are keys to tackling inefficiency.

Smart City of the Future

Examples of Smart City technologies and programs have been implemented in Singapore   Montreal   New York   Barcelona.

In 2010, it highlighted its focus on strengthening innovation and investment in ICT services for the purpose of improving public services and quality of life.

Arup estimates that the global market for Smart City services will be $400 billion per annum by 2020.