The 5 smartest cities in the world

Based on many criteria, market research firm Juniper Reserach has selected the five smartest cities in the world, including Singapore, Barcelona, ​​London, San Francisco and Oslo.

Although the term "smart city" is mentioned a lot, it is still difficult to determine how smart the most advanced city initiative is.

Market research firm Juniper Reasearch (UK) recently awarded the title "World's smartest city" to Singapore after reviewing a series of data related to this city. To draw that conclusion, Juniper researchers have ranked cities in a range of factors including the application of smart grid technologies, smart lighting, and the use of information technology. to improve traffic, Wi-Fi access points, smartphone popularity and applications.

"In terms of software applications, we look at traffic applications and applications that provide information about the city that help expand open data sources , " said Steffen Sorrell, senior analyst at Juniper Research. . " We use a variety of metrics to evaluate traffic and energy, which we believe are the most important elements of smart cities." To assess traffic, analyst Juniper calculates public transport options minus the points of cities with more personal transportation. When assessing cities' efforts to improve traffic, these experts assessed the efforts of city planners to improve congestion, illuminate traffic and sensors on the road. and smart parking.

Finally, Juniper Research studies the economies of the world's major cities adopting a smart city initiative. Sorrell said: "Not all cities have a budget for smart cities. So we look at the economic results of these cities and assume that results will help the muscles. Local managers pay for future smart city technologies. "

1. Singapore

In a program launched by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the end of 2014, Singapore has installed many sensors and cameras across the island nation to monitor everything from cleanliness to traffic. The number of sensors installed on this island country is huge. The city has the ability to detect if anyone smokes in an area that prohibits smoking or throwing garbage into the street from high-rise buildings. However, as more data becomes available, Singapore can take the concept of "smart city" to a new level.

Juniper Reseach gives Singapore a high score thanks to smart mobile policies and technologies as well as wireless connectivity. In 2014, the city announced that it was developing a software called "Singapore Fantasy" . This is a dynamic 3D model that allows city planners to run virtual authentication tests, for example to see how the crowd evacuated from an emergency area.

In an interview with WSJ, Singapore's Minister of Foreign Affairs and also the Minister of Smart National Programs stated that security and security issues are the main concerns for the government and The government will ensure the data is anonymous when possible. However a lot of data has been publicized by the government, for example, people can watch video surveillance to check parking .

Singapore has actively implemented collection of congestion charges and set aside this money to invest in sensors installed on roads, traffic lights and smart parking. This is not something too surprising and new in Singapore because since 1970, the country has begun to take initiatives to address the problem of congestion. In the near future, self-driving cars will appear in this country.

Singapore is a country with a very high rate of smartphone universalization. Telecoms company Singtel recently announced that it is deploying 10Gbps optical broadband services that allows downloading a 2-hour HD movie in just 90 seconds. According to Sorrell, the Internet here is the cheapest in terms of the cost of each broadband in the currency.

2. Barcelona

Barcelona uses a lot of sensors to monitor and manage traffic. City planners have recently announced plans to change traffic flow and plan to reduce traffic by 21%. The city not only uses smart city technology to reduce traffic but also develops many smart parking technologies, smart lighting, sensors to measure air quality and noise. Barcelona also extends free Wi-Fi networks in public locations. In Juniper's study, the city was praised for its environmental sustainability projects and even better than New York City or London.

According to Sorrell: "Barcelona's strength is sustainable energy, smart grid projects, smart metering and comprehensive plans to reduce carbon emissions and, above all, the introduction of an LED lighting system. clever".

Barcelona is also the pioneer city in dealing with drought. A few years ago, the city lacked water, so Barcelona developed a smart city sensor system for irrigation. The underground sensors will analyze the rainfall along with the expected rainfall based on the weather forecast to adjust the nozzle to keep the water.

The city takes the Sentilo sensor and this operating platform online. You can refer to this open source software platform on Github.

3. London

London has long been ranked first in the list of smart cities in the world. The city soon adopted technology to handle traffic congestion and make parking easier. As one of the world's technology centers, London has a highly developed broadband system. Recently, city planners have announced plans to deploy information technology to reduce congestion. London is committed to publicizing smart city data through London Datastore. Sorrel said: "For example, London has developed an application based on open data, you can let the app know where you are and the application will show you the necessary route." Although London scored very well in many areas, London was downgraded because it relied heavily on clean energy.

However, London is very strong to apply technology to solve traffic problems. London has announced it will spend £ 4 billion to invest in roads in the next decade, including £ 200 million invested in bus networks. The city also invests heavily in smart traffic technology. Not only are traffic lights capable of giving priority to buses to make the process more smooth, congestion charges are also applied since 2003.

4. San Francisco

San Francisco, the city on the bay, is the first location in North America to adopt smart city technology. San Francisco's Connected City Initiative encourages citizens to find parking. In addition, the city also offers smart urban development initiatives smartly. This is the city with the number of buildings certified green buildings (LEED) in the US.

However, the recent technological boom has affected city traffic. The mayor of the city, Ed Lee, is confident that the city can overcome the problem and turn San Francisco into a national model of "smart traffic".

Although the public transport network in San Francisco has been around for a long time, it still works very well in some areas, according to Juniper research . "The city has a high score on bus popularity. San Francisco has a good payment system. You can pay online, pay without contact," Sorell said. However, the city has many problems with traffic congestion, which is getting worse because of the technology boom that has caused the city's score to drop.

But San Francisco is a leader in smart parking. The SF parking initiative, launched in 2011, has boosted the use of sensors to manage parking lots. San Francisco uses this data to adjust the price of parking lots based on the number of vacant or less parking positions.

5. Oslo

The capital of one of the richest countries in the world, Oslo is often on the list of the smartest cities in the world. The city has made great strides in using information technology to cut energy consumption and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Like many smart cities, Oslo has installed sensors to support parking. The city also established a sensor network to help improve care for the elderly and sick. Oslo has built a smart lighting network that reduces energy consumption by nearly two-thirds.

Oslo is one of the first cities in the Nordic countries to apply smart grid service and has implemented a number of smart grid projects. This is also the city that has a complete charging network for electric vehicles.

The city was impressed by its aggressive carbon reduction plans and also planned to ban public transport by the end of the decade. Currently, the city still has a high number of private vehicles.

Oslo began deploying intelligent LED lighting systems and offering wide sensor networks to manage traffic flow. Sorrell said: "The city has smart parking applications and mobile payments."