Topic: smart-city

After surviving decades of occupation by a foreign power, how does a city restore and capture the value of its strengths in the arts and cultural heritage? This is a question that Vilnius, the capital city of Lithuania, faced in the early 1990s after the country regained its independence from the Soviet Union.

The southeast Asian country of Vietnam is evolving at a rapid pace. In recent years, the country has transformed into one of the fastest-growing economies in the region with booming industries in a wide range of sectors, and a tenacious business-oriented culture. In a short time, Vietnam has been able to grow from a low-income country into a lower-middle-income country, with analysts predicting that it could achieve upper-middle-income status as quickly as 2035. This is no mean feat, but with a large and booming population, with a young median age of 32 years, Vietnam has the drive, determination, and passion for innovation to make its dreams come true. A perfect and ambitious example is the Binh Duong Smart City project.

The city of Poznan is a rich and vibrant city in the west of Poland. Located on the banks of the river Warta, the city is home to over 530,000 residents and serves as the administrative capital of the Greater Poland Voivodeship. Over the years, the city has served as an important trading hub, an academic center, and a seat of power. For the 21st century, Poznan is going through another important evolution, transforming into a dynamic, future-focused smart city.

Kochi is a port city on the southwest coast of India and part of the state of Kerala. It is set over 36.6 square miles and has a population of around 602,000. The city was selected as one of the first 20 Indian cities to be developed under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship Smart Cities Mission.

India’s Smart Cities Mission aims to create 100 smart cities in the country as a model for development and to bring improvements to nearby cities and towns. A total of ₹98,000 crores ($15 billion) has been approved by the Indian Cabinet for the development of 100 smart cities and rejuvenation of 500 others over five years. Cities are selected through the Smart Cities Challenge, based on feasibility and potential social and economic impact.

Dublin is one of Europe’s most vibrant capital cities. Situated on the mouth of the River Liffey, this Irish metropolis has a population of more than 1,300,000 citizens, and hosts some of the world’s leading technology companies and financial institutions. Like many large cities, it’s not without its fair share of challenges. However, Dublin is rising to those challenges, and has made a name as one of the most innovative and forward-thinking cities in Europe. Thanks to the Smart Dublin initiative, the city is well on its way to becoming a shining example of just how smart a smart city truly can be.

The Dutch city of Rotterdam is Europe’s largest maritime port, and one of the world’s most important shipping hubs. Often referred to as the “Gateway to Europe,” Rotterdam sits in the Rhine-Meuse-Sheldt delta and has been an important trading center for centuries. Unfortunately, the city was devastated during World War II due to its strategic significance. The near-destruction of the city resulted in a post-war building boom which has led to ambitious and practical architecture.

With few historical landmarks remaining for preservation, Rotterdam has been able to whole-heartedly embrace modern design principles and infrastructure. This has made it fertile ground for smart city practices.

Today, the city is home to over 650,000 citizens of more than 180 nationalities. It’s a vibrant, multi-cultural hub with a progressive government. The city is eager to foster pioneering practices and cultivate innovative ideas. The goal is to build a smarter city that truly benefits its citizens.

Lublin, with a population of 340 000 inhabitants, is the largest economic and academic center and also the only metropolitan macro-region in Eastern Poland. Including the Lublin Metropolitan Area, this brings together more than 608 000 residents in 21 neighboring municipalities, with a total area of 2121 km². Lublin is among the most dynamically developing of Polish cities and holds top rankings for sustainable development, for its strategy for attracting investors, for quality of life, and for the level of its investment in infrastructure.

This city portrait is in two parts. The first part (Alba Iulia Smart City: How Central Romania Quietly Created a Hidden Champion in Europe) described the ambitious plans of the Alba Iulia City Hall as it uses tourism and strong partnerships with private companies to transform Alba Iulia into Romania’s first smart city. This second part takes a closer look at some of the smart solutions being implemented there.

A comparatively small American city in the very center of Silicon Valley, Palo Alto has thrown itself into the smart city scene, founding a number of tech-driven projects to solve the problems of its 67,000 citizens. The first challenge to overcome, however, is its size: Palo Alto will need to pioneer smart resource management in order to fund the deployment of its smart city initiatives and the larger-scale implementation of any successful solutions.

This city portrait is in two parts. This first part describes the ambitious plans of the Alba Iulia City Hall as it uses tourism and strong partnerships to transform Alba Iulia into Romania’s first smart city. The second part takes a closer look at some of the more than 100 smart city solutions being implemented there.