What steps is the state government taking to bring Brisbane closer to being a smart city while managing rapid growth? And what differences can city residents expect to see for themselves?
Sonja Pedell, Swinburne University of Technology e Ann Borda, The University of Melbourne
We have the technology to make it easier for older Australians to pursue active ageing in their own communities. The smart city just needs their input to make it work for them.
We are now at the start of the sixth great wave in economic disruption, driven by renewables, electomobilty and smart-city technologies.
A robot dog called Spot patrols a Singapore park playing a recorded message telling people to observe physical distancing measures.
Edgar Su/Reuters/AAP
Smart city solutions have proved handy for curbing the contagion, but recent experience has also shown how much they rely on public trust. And that in turn depends on transparency and robust safeguards
Amazon says it has considered adding facial recognition technology to its Ring doorbell cameras. Some politicians are concerned Ring’s video-sharing partnerships with police departments encroach on people’s privacy and civil liberties.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/Jessica Hill
Amazon says it’s the “new neighbourhood watch” but Ring may just be another technology that gives police too much data and lets neighbourhoods double down on their biases.
Arturo Bris, International Institute for Management Development (IMD)
According to a new smart cities index, the real test for smart cities is whether citizens feel the benefits.
An artist’s rendering of Toronto’s shoreline in 2050. Regulating the future city poses new challenges for different levels of government.
Picture Plane/Heatherwick Studio for Sidewalk Labs
Regulating Sidewalk Labs proposed developments poses new challenges for assigning responsibility and oversight.
The proposed Quayside neighbourhood in Toronto will collect data from individuals in public spaces, but getting consent is a tricky issue.
Picture Plane for Heatherwick Studio for Sidewalk Labs
A report based on public consultations conducted by Sidewalk Labs has still not answered many pressing concerns about privacy and consent in Toronto’s Quayside development.
Grangegorman campus, Technological University Dublin.
Technological University Dublin.
Technology and data are being harnessed to increase productivity in cities, but there also need to be ‘slow moments’, when people can pause to enjoy their surroundings.
Smart planning of cities needs to include addressing citizens’ privacy concerns.
Shutterstock
How smart are our cities now? In Queensland, a study of all 78 local government areas reveals major gaps between the ten leading the way in becoming smart cities and the rest of the state.
In a country where 26% of the population has access to mobile internet, India’s working class women are finding other ways to fight the patriarchy.
A smart city is usually one connected and managed through computing — sensors, data analytics and other information and communications technology.
from shutterstock.com
As cities become ‘smarter’, they need more and more objects fitted with technology. We need to think about designing these objects to accommodate computers, which often break down and create e-waste.
Ullswater in The Lake District National Park.
Andrew Locking
Cities are adapting to the needs of driverless cars. Here’s how.
Tel Aviv has a reputation as a “non-stop city” but is also known for its local government’s use of smart technology to listen to and respond to residents’ needs and concerns.
Alexandra Lande/Shutterstock
To be a smart city is to know what your people want and need. And smart city leaders make sure residents can tell them by using technology to maintain a constant two-way flow of information.