FEATURE : SMART CITIES
according to experts interviewed for the study . Transport and other services may be more efficient and cleaner , but not always cheaper . City officials must try to manage expectations for what smart initiatives can deliver .
There are few large cities in the world that do not have an office , programme or set of initiatives focused on delivering Smart City solutions . Today , mayors and other public officials base their appeal to voters partly on their ability to deliver technologyenabled services which will improve the quality of urban life .
City offices , technology companies , research institutes and other organisations generate considerable media content – articles , videos , press releases , reports – extolling the benefits of smart technologies . Perhaps as a result , urban residents have a positive view of what Smart Cities can deliver : 71 % of citizens and 81 % of business executives believe that their Smart City will be an appealing place to live .
But do city officials , technology companies and others understand what residents really want from these initiatives ?
We consider some of the expectations from the citizens of Zurich , in particular :
• Top ways cities can improve their development of smart initiatives – Citizens of Zurich emphasise keeping Smart City initiatives within budget , while businesses want public authorities to plan for the long-term and also ensure new Smart City services are easy to use . Better long-term planning is the most oft-cited plea of London , Riyadh and Stockholm residents .
• Improving affordability – Paris and Zurich are two of the most expensive cities in the world , according to the survey .
CITIZENS IN ZURICH EXPECT SMART CITY PROGRAMMES TO ENHANCE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY BY EXPANDING THE AVAILABILITY OF RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES SUCH AS WIND AND SOLAR POWER .
Improving the ability of energy and water utilities to vary pricing according to usage is the top expectation of citizens when it comes to Smart City programmes .
• The Green Imperative – One of the UN ’ s Sustainable Development Goals ( SDGs ) calls for all people to have ‘ access to affordable , reliable , sustainable and modern energy ’. Citizens in Zurich expect Smart City programmes to enhance environmental sustainability by expanding the availability of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power .
While the technologies that underpin many existing or planned urban projects are
44 INTELLIGENTCIO www . intelligentcio . com