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What are smart cities?

Learn how governments are improving quality of life, driving economic growth, and delivering resilient infrastructure.
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Smart cities overview

A smart city is an urban area that uses digital technologies to enrich residents’ lives, improve infrastructure, modernize government services, enhance accessibility, drive sustainability, and accelerate economic development. Smart cities are the cities of the future.

Key takeaways

  • Smart cities use technology, like AI and cloud computing, to improve services and infrastructure for their communities.
  • Growing populations and expectations shaped by our digital world are driving cities to transform themselves.
  • Smart cities provide residents with benefits such as enhanced safety, lower carbon emissions and stronger economic growth.

How do smart cities work?

Smart cities tap into the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, AI, augmented reality, edge, blockchain, and other cutting-edge technology to give city managers a comprehensive view of all city operations, infrastructure, and services. This allows them to predict potential issues, quickly overcome challenges, and improve outcomes.

Many smart cities are using these technologies to:
 
  • Protect and connect with residents and businesses.
  • Improve accessibility for all people in the community. 
  • Support businesses and fuel economic growth.
  • Share information with the public.
  • Streamline government operations.
  • Deliver user-friendly community services.
  • Provide reliable, intelligent infrastructure.
  • Drive environmental sustainability.
  • Promote cross-agency collaboration.
  • Upgrade public transportation. 
  • Manage city resources to avoid waste.
  • Collect and analyze open data to get valuable insights.
With smoother operations and better responsiveness, smart cities elevate experiences for the urban area’s residents, visitors, and businesses—building a brighter future for the city.

What’s driving smarter cities?

Around the world, urban centers are pursuing smart city initiatives, with big investments in AI, cloud computing, IoT, and other digital solutions. Although every city has different challenges and goals, there are some common trends driving their transformations.

For many governments population growth is a big factor. As urban centers continue to grow, cities are facing greater demands and more complex challenges than ever before.

Another driver is the internet and cloud computing, which have disrupted every industry, including city government. People have come to expect fast, user-friendly experiences and information at their fingertips. In this environment, city managers and administrators are under intense pressure to provide quick, effective, and cost-efficient services to residents and businesses.

Of course, the first job of a city is to keep residents safe, deliver critical services, improve quality of life, and support economic growth. Technology investments are helping city governments support and upgrade the infrastructure that makes their city run, including water, electricity, roadways and bridges, traffic lights, and public transportation.

As governments accelerate digital transformation to provide connected, secure, and reliable services, these smart cities are quickly becoming the most desirable places to live and work—they ’re the cities of the future.

Boundless benefits: Building smarter cities for better lives

Residents, businesses, and government agencies in smart cities enjoy a range of valuable benefits—from enhanced safety and more accessible public transportation to lower carbon emissions and stronger economic growth.

Smart cities are using innovative smart technologies to:

Improve quality of life

Because smart cities use a variety of technologies to deliver connected smart city solutions for residents, these municipalities are great places to live and work. These areas offer shorter commutes, easy-to-access transportation systems, safer streets, green spaces, cleaner air, enhanced resident services, and plentiful economic opportunities. It all adds up to a higher quality of life for the smart city’s population.

Optimize operations

Technology doesn’t just improve the lives of residents—it also allows government agencies to streamline operations. Government agencies in smart cities have access to modern digital infrastructure that allows them to share open data, tap into real-time insights, and promote cross-agency collaboration. This allows governments to increase productivity, empower employees, and enhance citizen services.

Drive environmental sustainability

Because sustainability has become a top priority for people across the globe, many city governments are searching for smart city technologies to help them understand their carbon footprint and lessen their environmental impact. These governments are taking advantage of digital solutions to boost energy efficiency, promote sustainable water practices, and measure and reduce their carbon emissions.

Deliver better services

Smart cities deliver reliable, trusted, and user-friendly services that put people at the center of experiences—all while securing sensitive public information. The residents in these smarter cities enjoy modern utilities, intelligent transportation, and trusted digital experiences.

Fuel economic growth 

Urban areas have always been critical hubs for trade and commerce. Today, smart cities are accelerating economic growth by investing in intelligent technologies. Businesses are drawn to these modern municipalities because they deliver better communication networks, enhanced mobility, reliable infrastructure, easy-to-use services, and larger pools of potential customers and employees. Plus, smart cities provide access to valuable customer data and insights, allowing businesses to make more informed, strategic decisions.

Streamline transportation

Smart cities around the world are driving digital transformation in transportation to improve their infrastructure, modernize public transport, and deploy multimodal logistical operations. By using connected digital solutions, these cities are able to monitor traffic conditions in real time, simplify toll and parking payment collection, and serve the community more efficiently in the field.

Smart city technology solutions

When governments embark on a smart city project, they often invest in a combination of intelligent digital solutions. These smart city technologies are designed to work together to connect the community, enhance the lives of city residents, drive sustainability efforts, improve infrastructure, and support economic growth.

Here are a few examples of innovative smart city solutions:

Cloud computing

Many city agencies are migrating their applications, workforce systems, and other critical government information from local storage to the cloud to accelerate innovation, increase efficiency, and cut costs. This allows governments to be more agile and resilient while helping to protect sensitive personal data. Cloud solutions also allow city staff and residents to securely access information remotely, which is essential for the continuity of government services.

Cloud computing has become an essential smart city technology because these solutions allow governments to:

  • Reduce costs since they don’t have to invest in and manage hardware and software.
  • Deliver the right amount of IT resources when and where they’re needed.
  • Ensure better performance through a worldwide network of fast, efficient, and secure datacenters.
  • Improve security of city data, apps, and infrastructure.
  • Access vast amounts of computing resources within minutes.
  • Boost productivity of city managers, employees, and IT teams.
  • Maintain business continuity with easy data backup and disaster recovery.

AI

City governments are using AI to improve interactions with the community, rapidly distribute information to the public, conserve energy and water, and power everything smart buildings, smart streetlights, and smart traffic.

For example, many smart cities now use AI chatbots to offer residents quick and accurate answers and information online. Additionally, some governments have invested in AI sensors to collect and analyze transportation data and streamline traffic flow. These predictive technologies are changing the way cities run and enhancing quality of life for urban residents.

IoT

Smart cities around the world are using IoT sensors to instantly capture insights that provide city managers with a deeper understanding of what’s happening across their communities in near real time. This helps them improve operations across the city.

Remote monitoring allows administrators to track assets, such as vehicles and heavy machinery, either continuously or at regular intervals. They can monitor the asset’s location, performance, and condition. These insights empower city governments to:
 
  • Decrease fuel, maintenance, and service costs.
  • Refine city government processes.
  • Provide a better experience for the population.
  • Reduce wear and tear on vehicles and machinery.
  • Increase the number of service appointments per day.
  • Route vehicles more efficiently.
  • Improve resident security and city employee safety.
Predictive maintenance uses machine learning software to analyze data, predict outcomes, and automate operations. This technology helps smart city administrators:
 
  • Pinpoint mechanical or operational issues that are leading to failure or slowdowns.
  • Determine which spare parts to maintain in inventory for repair issues.
  • Predict and prevent equipment failures before they occur.

Blockchain technology

Blockchain is a decentralized, digital database that allows people to share information within a large, publicly accessible network. Because participants can exchange data reliably and transparently without a centralized administrator, it’s helpful for city governments with large numbers of stakeholders.

Smart cities are using blockchain solutions to:
 
  • Easily and securely exchange data.
  • Encourage cross-agency collaboration.
  • Gain a single view across city supply chains.
  • Reduce fraud and verify financial transactions faster.
  • Create smarter and more efficient supply chains.
  • Simplify processes for reconciling data disputes in auditing and regulatory compliance.
  • Manage energy usage, urban development, and population growth.

Edge computing

Edge computing is the process of placing computing infrastructure closer to the actual data source. This reduces network latency (delays in data communication) and excessive bandwidth usage, while ensuring service continuity—even when cloud connections are intermittent.

In coordination with other technologies, edge computing solutions help city governments:
 
  • Process, sort, and analyze IoT or datacenter data so they can determine what to act on immediately and what to store in the cloud.
  • Analyze data for quick, actionable insights using AI and machine learning.
  • Transfer network data efficiently and easily between the cloud and the edge.
  • Run applications at remote locations for faster transactions and less bandwidth constraints.
  • Meet regulatory compliance by using machine learning models that help alert administrators to potentially sensitive data.
For example, London’s Heathrow Airport uses edge, AI, and machine learning combined with a 3D scanner to prevent illegal wildlife trafficking.

Augmented reality

Augmented reality is technology that creates a computer-generated image overlay onto a real-world setting, giving the user a composite view. It’s a great tool for training employees or providing a view of areas they can’t easily reach or see. For example, some city workers use mobile devices that overlay an image of utilities and assets when looking underground. This allows workers to see where pipes are located under a street and determine their operating condition. King County in the Seattle area has been recognized for using a mixed reality device to train operators at a wastewater treatment plant.

Smart city governments also use augmented reality to:
 
  • Simplify complex city planning and construction projects.
  • Receive expert advice and support while working at a remote location.
  • Empower employees to learn with hands-on, step-by-step instructions.
  • Help field workers quickly, efficiently, and safely complete jobs.
  • Streamline inspections and permitting processes.

Smart city infrastructure

Infrastructure, including water and electricity, roadways and traffic, lights, city services and communications networks, keep cities running smoothly. As urban populations grow and people increasingly demand digital services and modern conveniences, it’s more important than ever for cities to deliver flexible, resilient, and secure infrastructure.

By embracing cloud computing, IoT, AI, and other smart city solutions, governments can:
 
  • Provide intelligent critical infrastructure.
  • Deliver valued services that build trust.
  • Improve security of sensitive public information.
  • Modernize public utilities.
  • Enable connected, efficient, and sustainable transportation systems.
  • Deliver urban innovation and enhance resident services.
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Frequently asked questions

  • A smart city is an urban area that uses an array of digital technologies to enrich residents’ lives, improve infrastructure, modernize government services, enhance accessibility, drive sustainability, and accelerate economic development. Smart cities are the cities of the future.
  • The world’s most successful smart cities are centered around data. These cities invest in and use technologies, such as cloud computing, AI, IoT, augmented reality, edge, and blockchain, to quickly collect and analyze data. The insights that governments gain from this data empower them to make informed decisions and take steps to streamline services, engage with residents, support business growth, and drive sustainability efforts.
  • Many smart city governments have migrated to modern datacenters in the cloud to consolidate and protect data, such as birth records, addresses, and income information. This gives them a flexible digital environment with improved security, protection, and compliance. 

    Additionally, many city governments are encouraging residents to transition to digital identities.
  • Also known as decentralized identity, a digital identity allows people and organizations to take ownership of their personal data. In a decentralized identity trust framework, identifiers such as usernames are replaced with IDs that are self-owned and independent. Blockchain and distributed ledger technology allow systems to exchange data, while protecting privacy and helping to secure transactions.
  • In many cases, yes. Smart cities are using technology not only to accelerate economic growth but to drive environmental sustainability as well. Some city governments are using digital solutions to collect and analyze carbon emissions data, boost energy efficiency, promote sustainable water practices, decrease waste, and reduce their city’s carbon footprint.
  • If you want to accelerate digital transformation and pursue smart city initiatives, technology is key, but the first step is defining outcomes and goals. Once you’ve set clear goals for your city, it’s easier to determine how data and digital solutions can help you reach those objectives. The most successful smart cities invest in innovative digital solutions, such as AI, cloud computing, and blockchain, that allow them to collect and use data in near real time and act quickly on insights.
  • Smart cities are great places to live and work. Because these urban areas use innovative technologies to improve infrastructure and services, smart cities offer safer streets, better mobility, shorter commutes, reduced emissions, streamlined resident services, and thriving businesses. These perks lead to an overall higher quality of life for the city’s population.
  • Information communication technology is the backbone of smart cities. Intelligent networks and wireless communication between people, objects, and machines improve operational efficiency, public information sharing, government services, and citizen welfare. For example, information communication technology helps reduce traffic congestion with stoplights that adjust in real time to account for road conditions.
  • While smart cities offer a variety of benefits, there are a number of challenges to consider as well, including:
    • Ensuring citizens have access to the same resources.
    • Integrating new technology into existing infrastructure. 
    • Persuading the public of the benefits of change. 
    • Striking a balance between privacy and convenience.  
    • Securing new and old technology. 
    The key to meeting these challenges is a comprehensive plan that takes into consideration the needs and priorities of all stakeholders.
  • By bringing together the resources and expertise of both the public and private sectors, public-private partnerships can help cities develop and implement innovative solutions to achieve their smart city goals.

    For instance, partnerships between local businesses and governments can help fund smart city projects. Similarly, partnerships between academic institutions and city governments can help develop new technologies and applications for use in smart cities.
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