Askoxylakis, Ioannis

Tryfonas, T.

Bournemouth University Research Online

ERCIM NEWS 98   July 20148Special theme: Smart CitiesIntroduction to the Special Themefuture Cities and Smart technologies: A Landscape of Ambition and Cautionby Theo Tryfonas and Ioannis AskoxylakisThe old Chinese curse of “may you live in inter-esting times” has never been more relevant thanin the field of urban development. For some timenow, the global urban population has exceededthe global rural population. Cities and cityregions have therefore emerged as the onlygrowth models capable of meeting the increaseddemands and strains facing global supply sys-tems, which are seriously affected by populationgrowth, climate change, globalization and inter-national security issues. Given these constraints,urban development is becoming a tough chal-lenge.Smart technologies may play a role in addressingthese issues. From sensor networks to wirelessconnectivity and big data analytics to the Internetof Things, our planners, architects, infrastructureengineers and facilities managers have theability to harness the power of information gen-erated within the boundaries of cities and thebuilt environment. Transport planners can betterunderstand the demand for services and pas-senger behaviour; similarly, energy providerscan tailor their supply to the real needs of theircustomers. End users can benefit from personal-ized and timely service provision that takes intoaccount the individual’s location and situation -from way finding to micropayments to finding agood place to dine. There is enormous potentialto use these technologies to establish more sus-tainable behaviour: for example, with energy usemonitoring informed by smart meters, personal-ized transport assisted by e-ticketing and mobiletechnology, wireless infrastructure, to name justa few possibilities.This capability, however, comes at a significantcost. Real time monitoring and bulk data collec-tion call for high performance computationalinfrastructure, huge storage capacity, widereaching connectivity, digital skills and a posi-tive governance attitude. Furthermore, this tech-nology creates the potential for mass surveil-lance operations by the state as well as globalcorporations, triggering grave concerns for indi-viduals’ privacy. This is a promising yet chal-lenging field that has a significant role to play increating a more sustainable urban future.Technologies deployed and tested across mul-tiple cities provide insights into a future that wemay wish to see, but also give us forewarningsabout the challenges that lie ahead.This special issue of ERCIM News captures thestate of art of European research and provides aninsight into smart systems and technologies thatare already, or may become in the future, part ofour daily urban lives. Although it is difficult toprovide an exact definition for it so early in itsdevelopment, these technological advances con-tribute fundamentally to a forward-thinkingconcept that has been termed ‘Smart City’, i.e.,an urban environment that capitalizes on con-temporary information management capabili-ties, including ICT infrastructure and applica-tions, to improve on the delivery of public serv-ices, transport, health, sustainability, theeconomy and the overall wellbeing of its resi-dents. A recent report from the Department ofBusiness, Innovation and Skills (BIS) in the UKestimated the emerging global market of SmartCities to worth a minimum of $400 billion. Asan emerging domain, however, there are still anumber of uncertainties to be addressed.With a wide selection of articles from novel net-working technologies to digital entrepreneurialprocesses, it is clear from this special issue thatno single technology or vendor can deliver thepromises of the Smart City. No amount of sen-sors or data will offer a solution without pur-poseful assembly of the right components,including technology, skills and governance.This is an important perspective which high-lights the need for European policy, systemarchitecture and systems integration to beinformed by the challenges of understandinghuman behaviour, fostering creativity by devel-oping the human capital and ensuring compli-ance with the data protection frameworkthrough balancing the need for security withrespect for individual rights. What interestingtimes, indeed!Please contact:Ioannis AskoxylakisICS-FORTH, GreeceE-mail: asko@ics.forth.grTheo Tryfonas, Faculty of Engineering, University of BristolE-mail: theo.tryfonas@bristol.ac.uk

Future Cities and Smart Technologies: A Landscape of Ambition and Caution.

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