Curious about what kind of technology cities of the future can offer? Ever wondered how it feels like to live in those cities? Pack your bags. In these five smart cities, you are a step closer to finding answers.
Toronto
Toronto implements various smart city innovations including smart traffic signals. Using real-time information gathered from video footage, radar, and GPS, the traffic control signals of Toronto alter their timing based on the traffic patterns observed. This reduces traffic congestion as well as commuting times.
Singapore
Singapore established itself as one of the most developed smart cities around at the present time. Its Smart Nation program has fully embraced the use of Big Data and digital technology in their government.
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One of the hallmarks of this smart city technologies is Singapore Personal Access or SingPass. This integrates the services of more than 60 government agencies of Singapore. With SingPass, you can make transactions with the government with a single account, saving you a lot of time.
New York
The Big Apple is home to about 7,500 tech companies including IBM. Being one of the hubs for innovation in the world, it also houses hundreds of thousands of employees. With this city being perpetually busy, there is always a need for new talents. Aside from travelling, you might consider working in New York if you are into tech.
London
London recognizes that the growth of a smart city is more than just the smart city investments and the presence of tech companies in its territory — it is also a matter of connecting with the citizens.
Since 2010, the city has opened volumes of data for public scrutiny with Datastore, an online platform where everyone in the community can access information concerning the city including statistics on economics, security, demographics, and healthcare, to name a few. This city is one of the pioneers in making government data accessible to all.
With open access to data, the government and the citizens can directly collaborate on improving the city.
Tokyo
Capping off this list is Tokyo. Hitachi. Sony. Mitsubishi. There are myriads of tech companies which call this city home. Time and time again, the city has set the trends in technology.
Already in the pinnacle, there are no signs of Tokyo slowing down when it comes to smart city innovations. Right now the city’s focus is the use of Big Data and existing technologies to maximize the efficiency of energy usage. This is called smart energy. This involves the use of tools to effectively regulate and monitor the use of energy of the city’s inhabitants.
With a lot of smart cities focus on streamlining processes, it is refreshing to see this city focused on employing smart city solutions for sustainability. Tokyo truly is the smart city that in more ways than one, others should look at.
If you’re interested to know about other smart cities, check out this top 50 list.