Concept of Smart City

Morshedul Hasan Mukul

Dept of Urban and Regional planning

Jahangirnagar University, Savar Dhaka.

Definition and Background of Smart City

Urban performance currently depends not only on the city's endowment of hard infrastructure but also, and increasingly so, on the availability and quality of knowledge communication and soft/social infrastructure. The recent form of capital is decisive for urban competitiveness. The concept of the smart city
has been introduced as a strategic device to encompass modern urban production factors in a common framework and to highlight the growing importance of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), social and environmental advancements in profiling the city competitiveness Smart cities have also been used as a marketing concept by companies and by cities.

Smart City Concept

A city can be defined as ‘smart’ when investments in human and social capital and traditional and modern (ICT) communication infrastructure, fuel, sustainable economic development and a high quality of life, with a wise management of natural resources, through participatory action and engagement. (Caragliu et al. 2009). Smart cities can be identified and ranked along six main axes or dimensions:

i)  A smart economy ii) Smart mobility iii) A smart environment iv) Smart people v) Smart living vi) Smart governance.

These six axes connect with traditional regional and neoclassical theories of urban growth and development. In particular, the axes are based respectively on theories of regional competitiveness, transport and ICT economics, natural resources, human and social capital, quality of life, and participation of citizens in the governance of cities.

How Smart City Functions

The following Figure is showing, how a smart city is functioning with its all dimensions.

Figure: Smart City Functioning

Some Characteristics of Smart City

i) A stage reached in the development of infrastructure: This usage is centered on the "utilization of networked infrastructure to improve economic and political efficiency and enable social, cultural and urban development where the term infrastructure indicates business services, housing, leisure and lifestyle services, and ICT etc.

ii) A strategy for creating a competitive environment: Here, a ‘smart city’ is taken to be one that takes advantages of the opportunities of ICTs offer to increase local prosperity and competitiveness,  an approach which implies integrated urban development based on multi-actor, multi-sector, and multi-level perspectives.

iii) An approach to inclusive and sustainable cities: A smart city will be a city whose community has learned to learn, adapt and innovate. This can include a strong focus on the aim to achieve the social inclusion of various urban residents in public services and emphasis on citizen participation.

iv) Wireless sensor networks for smart cities: A wireless sensor network is a specific technology that helps to create Smart Cities. The aim is to create a distributed network of intelligent sensor nodes which can measure many parameters for a more efficient management of the city.

Some issues of Smart City concept can be applicable in case of Bangladesh, to ensure good governance, good environment and better living.

Related Link

·        Caragliu, A; Del Bo, C. & Nijkamp, P (2009). "Smart cities in Europe". Series Research Memoranda 0048 (VU University Amsterdam, Faculty of Economics, Business Administration and Econometrics. Derived from: www.smartcities.info, date 03.04.2013

·        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_city

·       http://www.smartcitythinking.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/WH-smart-city-An-introduction.pdf

·      http://www.smart-cities.eu/download/smart_cities_final_report.pdf

·  http://www.burohappold.com/fileadmin/uploads/bh/Photos/Living%20City%20wheel%20diagram%201000x800.jpg