Engineering News – While Cape Town is emerging as a ‘smart city’, it has much to learn from other cities about the potential of using Internet of Things (IoT) applications to make its operations more efficient, technology company Nokia said on Tuesday.
Its latest ‘The Smart City Playbook’ report examines the strategies of 22 cities worldwide as they become smart, safe and sustainable. The playbook provides concrete guidance to city leaders on successful strategies used by municipalities to make their cities smarter, safer and more sustainable.
First, the report stated, Cape Town was adopting an approach suitable to its local context. “Rather than pursuing grand projects that its citizens cannot benefit from, it is tailoring its efforts to what it perceives are their needs.”
Cape Town’s principal smart city activities have, to date, included public Wi-Fi; closed-circuit television, with 560 cameras located throughout the city; the establishment of an open data portal; and the introduction of a smart grid, which currently had several pilots under way through the Western Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism.
To become a smart city, Nokia recommended: starting with a realistic vision; implementing network infrastructure right the first time; embracing open data and open government policies; incorporating smart requirements into publicly funded infrastructure programmes; launching and supporting cross domain initiative; stimulating ecosystems and cultivating a collaborative culture; thinking big, but starting small; identifying appropriate milestones; building a city for the people; and connecting, communicating and celebrating.
