Communications of the ACM
Cities Fail to Recognize Full Potential of Smart Technologies
Credit: greentechmedia.com
Opening up data and digital assets is critical to accelerating low-carbon cities, according to a recent University of Nottingham report.
Although cities are using information and communications technology (ICT) to improve their sustainability and efficiency, they are not recognizing the full value of smart initiatives, and could be missing the opportunity to turn unused data and infrastructure into new low carbon solutions and services, the report says.
The application of smart technology is being held back by technology-led experiments that often fail to achieve useful outcomes for consumers and residents. In addition, complex municipal procurement processes make it hard for small technology companies to participate, and cities are unsure of the social and financial ramifications of unknown investments.
"Through using the data from their digital infrastructure as a market creation asset, cities will be able to capture significantly more value from smart city ICT investments," says Horizon Digital Economy Research's Catherine Mulligan.
The report says that cities need to capture the potential advantages of smart technology initiatives with a common series of metrics that can be translated into relevant financial and non-financial values of relevance.
From University of Nottingham (United Kingdom)
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