Topic: smart-cities

Over the years, the sophistication of technology has brought with it, consequently, the automation of jobs. Thanks to the advancement and improvement of the internet and personal devices, connecting with different parts of the world became possible, enabling people to work from anywhere.
However, technology continues to evolve, as do the ways of working. How will these advances affect the workplace? Why is it important to talk about governance to correctly develop policies around companies and workers?

The Smart Tourism sector has been in the news quite a lot recently. With cities struggling to maintain tourist numbers due to the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis, it’s clear that something needs to be done. As a key pillar of any city’s economy, tourism is hugely important.

Cities must be prepared to respond to catastrophic storms, fires, mass shootings, pandemics, riots and other assorted crises. Some crises are worse than others. Natural and man-made disasters are known to disrupt local government services, destroy private property and damage critical infrastructure — isolating the population and placing lives at risk.

Ever since the idea of a smart city was first introduced, Internet of Things technology has been a key pillar of smart city development. As technology advances and more countries embrace next-generation connectivity, IoT technology will continue to grow and have a bigger effect on the way we live.  In this article, we explore IOT and its importance for the development of smart cities.

According to numbers from the Improving Internet of Things (IoT) Security with Software-Defined Network (SDN) study, there will be more than 75.44 billion connected IoT devices by 2025. With a forecast of over 7.33 billion mobile users by 2023 and more than 1,105 million connected wearable devices users by 2022, the Internet of Things is expected to grow into one of the smartest collective and collaborative systems in history.

For the third time, the QBE AcceliCITY Resilience Challenge of QBE North America collaborates with the non-profit organization Leading Cities. Start-ups have the opportunity to apply for the accelerator program. Since the smart city startup accelerator program launch, more than 1,500 smart city solutions from over 50 countries have been evaluated.

Semi-finalists of the QBE AcceliCITY Resilience Challenge take part in the eight-week virtual accelerator program. For the finalists, the program culminates in a virtual boot camp and a pitch day. The winner will receive USD 100,000 and a pilot project in a city. The start-ups that rank second and third will receive $ 25,000 and additional resources and access to valuable connections to help scale their initiatives. The application deadline is April 30, 2021.

Mobile operators worldwide are investing in 5G networks, and proponents of this much-hyped technology believe it will enable a new wave of smart city development. According to the IEEE, "5G is not just an evolutionary upgrade of the previous generation of cellular networks. It is a revolutionary technology … and a critical piece of the smart city puzzle."

When used correctly, disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence can improve our urban landscape for the better. Drawing from huge resource pools and using a combination of modern machine learning, natural language processing, computer vision, and more, artificial intelligence can be leveraged to drive efficiency and improve the quality of life for the smart cities of the smart cities tomorrow.

The first edition of CityTech RUHR, Germany’s largest international smart city startup challenge, concluded with the successful development and implementation of pilot projects by three international startups in three participating cities of the Ruhr Metropolis. Three success stories reflect the high innovation potential that can be leveraged through the collaboration between cities and startups.

The Covid-19 pandemic has posed similar challenges to cities and municipalities around the world. What have we learned from the Covid-19 pandemic and how can innovative solutions also be used in the post-crisis period? The international digital ideas competition #SolutionsForCities, started by the German Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community (BMI), is not only intended to find answers to all these questions. Rather, cities and municipalities are to be supported through international collaboration in identifying digital solutions to overcome their local challenges.

Partnering cities of the International Smart Cities Network (ISCN) and German cities that have been recognized as "Smart Cities Model Projects" have identified current challenges to be solved through the international ideas competition.

The Covid-19 pandemic has made a tremendous impact on people’s everyday lives. Changes to our regular routines have been coming in thick and fast, from mask-wearing protocol to social distancing etiquette. Of all these changes, how we move around and get from A to B has seen some of the most drastic changes.

Over the past few months, mobility has rapidly evolved into an entirely new beast. Faithful and reliable transport methods are being shunned in favour of new systems. Citizens are avoiding crowded trains and buses in favour of bicycles and e-scooters. As cities evolve to phase out car usage, improving air quality and the health of citizens, the Covid-19 pandemic has provided a unique opportunity to overhaul urban mobility. But will these changes be here for good?