What are smart cities?

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More and more municipalities are paying attention to technological innovations capable of building smart cities, promoting a healthy lifestyle, responsible use of public spaces , sustainable development and an increasing quality of life .

Why should smart cities be the new trend?
Currently, more than half of the world's population lives in large urban centers and statistics indicate that by 2050 this percentage will be around 70%, according to a United Nations study published in May 2018.

The high concentration of the population in large cities poses a israel whatsapp number database of challenges to local government , particularly with regard to pollution, car traffic, housing and access to services. On the other side of the coin, the problem is different. This ongoing rural exodus is creating an ever-widening gap between cities and their outskirts, which are increasingly isolated. Managing these disparate realities, ensuring the essential conditions for a dignified, quality life, is a challenge that smart technologies can help to solve.

In fact, it is in technology that the great hope lies. With the technological advances of recent years and the need to rethink the use of urban spaces in order to guarantee sustainability, there has been much talk of smart cities . Today, the term is beginning to enter the lexicon of ordinary citizens, who are also more attentive, more aware and more demanding with regard to the actions of leaders and their impact on life within cities.

But after all, what are smart cities?
The European Union defines Smart Cities as a set of systems and people that interact intelligently using energy , materials, services and resources in a sustainable way.

They are a kind of fusion between people and systems that move in harmony and synergy, seeking to ensure the sustainable development of urban spaces. In general terms, we can say that smart cities are those that invest in technology to improve municipal management and provide their citizens with a better quality of life and sustainable spaces.

According to the Cities in Motion Index, developed by IESE Business School, there are ten areas in which smart cities stand out. They are:

Governance
Public administration
Urban planning
Mobility and transport
Technology
Environment
International relations
Social cohesion
Human capital
Economy
What makes a city smart?
Today, it is possible to find several examples of processes managed intelligently using cutting-edge technology. A study by the McKinsey Global Institute shows that the concept of smart cities can be applied to different aspects of everyday life.

A very common example is mobility . Sensors that detect traffic conditions can reprogram traffic lights to speed up traffic flow. Another very simple example where technology can contribute to the sustainability of cities is in the rationalization and monitoring of the water supply system. Pneumatic waste management systems can also ensure efficient collection of urban waste.

The great challenge is to understand how cities with 18th century infrastructures will be able to meet the needs of urban life in the 21st century.

Smart cities are not just big cities
When it comes to smart cities, size doesn’t matter. This is easy to understand when you look at examples of national municipalities that are taking advantage of technological potential for the sustainable development of their territories.

At a European level, the example of Barcelona is often highlighted. Electric vehicles, city-wide Wi-Fi, smart traffic lights, bike sharing and even a Smart City Campus – a space that brings together companies, technology centres and universities to promote synergies.

The examples multiply until we reach the first smart city, Alphabet, Google's parent company, which is preparing to build a small smart city in Toronto. Heated streets, autonomous cars and a city powered by solar energy. This will be the prototype for the cities of the future.

The future is increasingly smart
Based on these examples, it is easy to see that when it comes to smart cities, there are no big or small municipalities. Innovation can emerge anywhere and the right technology can solve the problems of cities and citizens, regardless of their size or geographic location.

It is therefore essential to think about the future of cities as increasingly intelligent spaces, prepared to transform challenges into opportunities, and thus create dynamic, sustainable, competitive territories with an increasingly better quality of life for citizens.

But more than thinking about the future of cities, it is important to think about the future of management, in this case, municipal management. In fact, the present already has the solution to streamline this management and enhance the construction of smart cities. The answer lies in an ERP for the public sector.

PRIMAVERA's Public Sector ERP is the right technology to support the effective modernization of the management of Public Bodies.

Achieve high levels of productivity. Be competitive. Handle processes quickly. Ensure budgetary sustainability. Be accountable with rigor. Guarantee excellent service. All this is simple with the PRIMAVERA Public Sector solution.