Watch:
This report produced by the United States conference of mayors, presents the main results of a survey launched in February 2016 and ran until the end of June 2016. In total, 54 cities participated in the survey and provided detailed information regarding their smart city projects, that have been implemented or are currently under development. The main focus of the survey was to find out possible ways, in which the US smart cities are evolving, through questions referring to projects that are being implemented or planned between 2015 and 2017. The survey questions covered topics including project goals, difficulties experienced when implementing smart city projects, and what type of funding and business models are most commonly used. The scope of this analysis is to help other cities, implementing smart city projects, to better understand what their peers are doing and learn from their experience.
The goal of a smart city project is not to just implement new technology ‘“ according to the survey, the most common reason for investing in smart city projects is ‘˜increasing citizen satisfaction’ . Although this goal may seem ambiguous, citizen satisfaction is very important for city economic growth and stability, as cities with large, socially engaged populations attract more business and investment. This result indicates that cities see that investing in smart city technology can help them achieve a broad range of goals.
Furthermore, this report includes an appendix with five case studies of specific smart city projects. According to this, some of the most successful smart city projects, around the world, are those delivering tangible improvements for citizens. Given the fact that every city is unique, encompassing a set of specificities, smart city projects should be carefully planned to suit city’ s individual needs. The case studies in the appendix of this report feature a selection of cities that are adopting smart city technology, to combat serious issues affecting them today. Examples include projects for: i) collecting better data, referring to asthma and allergy triggers, in order to influence city policy; ii) providing better transport for new mothers to receive necessary medical care; and iii) reducing energy costs, through installing street lights that conserve energy.
You can read the full report here.