Information Policy

London’s smart city potential in the hands of its inhabitants

Sadiq Khan wants London to be the world’s leading smart city. To do so he requires Londoners’ views and ideas on how smart technology can help shape the capital in the future. 

“I’ve been clear in my ambition for London to become the world’s leading smart city – and I want to know how technology is affecting Londoners’ lives and to understand in what ways we can build on this with new technologies in the future,” said The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan. “We want London to be the global home of the data economy, to seize the benefits of new artificial intelligence, and inspire a new generation of inventors and developers to make our city even better.”

Smart city projects to watch in 2018

Where in the world are the most exciting up-and-coming smart city projects?

As with any major IT project, the challenge in smart city development is the legacy infrastructure. Arguably, the most successful modern-day smart city projects are purpose-built on greenfield sites, in contrast to many of the globe’s major capitals which have stood in place for decades if not centuries. However, today’s smart city projects are challenging traditional thinking – and in 2018, all bets are off.

Building Smart Cities

With populations growing faster than their public infrastructure can handle, many cities are getting smart about how they support their citizens. They’re using the Internet of Things (IoT) to transform public sector operations at municipal, regional, and even national levels.

Smart city IoT revenue to explode from $25B to $62B in 2026

• Smart city IoT tech is expected to grow from $25 billion in 2017 to $62 billion in 2026 — ABI Research, 2018
• Fastest growing smart city IoT verticals include EV charging stations and micro-grids, smart waste management and environmental sensors — ABI Research, 2018

The trend toward smart city IoT tech growth will continue, with 12 key technologies and verticals increasing from $25 billion to $62 billion from 2017 to 2016, according to a new report from ABI Research.

When drones are part of the smart city network

• By Matt Leonard

Drones are already being used to document accident scenes, support first responder activities and monitor construction sites, but they are poised to become an integral part of a smart city's network.

A smart city is built on data from sensors embedded throughout the city, according to Jason Nelson, the executive director of partnership engagement at the Smart Cities Council, an industry advisory group. “We see drones as being one of these potential citywide sensor networks” along with smart street lights, a city’s fleet vehicles and smartphones, he said in a Jan. 18 webcast.