Smart cities are our future. But when it comes to defining what they are, who they serve and how they will go to scale, the complexity of smart cities becomes apparent.
Councils hold an important role in making decisions about the shape of the cities we live in both now and in the future. With promises of smart cities ‘at scale’ in our collective futures, the time is right for councils to consider two critical questions:
• What does safe, responsible, and sustainable deployment of a smart city look like at scale?
• How might we get there?
Recognizing a smart city as a complex system is a crucial first step.
This report uses a systems lens to understand the current state of a smart city in regional New South Wales. The report considers what it might take for the Regional Council to ensure the number and connectivity of technologies in the city scales in a way that is safe, responsible and sustainable.
The report moves beyond looking at individual technologies or other isolated components, and towards examining interconnections between the components, goals of the system and places where action could be taken to change the nature of the system. The report focuses on on the Regional Council, though the recommendations are intended to be applicable to other, similar councils.
Councils hold an important role in making decisions about the shape of the cities we live in both now and in the future. With promises of smart cities ‘at scale’ in our collective futures, the time is right for councils to consider two critical questions:
• What does safe, responsible, and sustainable deployment of a smart city look like at scale?
• How might we get there?
Recognizing a smart city as a complex system is a crucial first step.
This report uses a systems lens to understand the current state of a smart city in regional New South Wales. The report considers what it might take for the Regional Council to ensure the number and connectivity of technologies in the city scales in a way that is safe, responsible and sustainable.
The report moves beyond looking at individual technologies or other isolated components, and towards examining interconnections between the components, goals of the system and places where action could be taken to change the nature of the system. The report focuses on on the Regional Council, though the recommendations are intended to be applicable to other, similar councils.
Excerpt section: The system reimagined
