The growth of cities is imminent; by 2050, 85% of the world's population will live in cities, according to the conclusions of Smart Cities Week 2020.
Smart cities are considered systems that strategically use their materials, financing and services, focusing their management on helping to transform and improve people's living conditions, as they seek sustainability in different aspects such as environment, economy, social cohesion and international projection; they are designed for the benefit of citizens, to make the city increasingly efficient and sustainable for its inhabitants.
Technology focused on sustainability
Smart cities were part of the European Union's sustainability objectives. In March 2007, the European Council approved the 20/20/20 target, which aimed to achieve 20% energy savings, a 20% increase in the use of renewable energies and 20% less greenhouse gases. These targets were finally met last year, so the EU set new targets for 2030.
It is not about just innovating without a purpose, Smart Cities focus on improving the quality of life, demonstrating that innovation can be greener and more sustainable. The model is based on the following factors: smart government, economy, quality of life, people, environment and mobility.
Examples of smart cities
There are currently relevant examples of Smart Cities in the world, especially in Asia, Europe and North America.
Among the most outstanding examples at the international level are:
-Tokyo: Although this city started its actions with purely technological changes, nowadays it has started to take its population into account. A clear example is the initiative called Society 5.0, which innovation and technological advances supported by Artificial Intelligence (AI) make access to information networks easy for all, regardless of age or location.
-New York, one of the world's great examples of mobility, urban planning and transportation, is reinventing itself by creating strategies such as One NYC 2050 and strategies focused on the social development of its inhabitants. (Endesa Foundation, Smart Cities, 2019)
What will the future hold?
More and more cities in different regions are focusing their efforts and resources on becoming Smart Cities, and this will gradually happen, as more and more governments come to see the importance of this.
Among the cities that are planning various strategies to start being Smart Cities are: Malaga, Spain, focused on energy management, Barcelona with issues focused on mobility, such as implementation of charging points for electric vehicles, Santiago de Chile with various strategies focused on three factors: innovation, efficiency and sustainability.
In Bolivia in 2017, the Municipal Autonomous Government of La Paz held a conversation focused on collecting data and general concepts to get a clearer vision of being a Smart City, through two reviews, an internal one from the Municipal Autonomous Government of La Paz (GAMLP) with projects and policies presented to an external specialist to do a second review on the subject. This first step had the participation of various organizations of this city to create a document called: GAMLP, MEMORY - CONSERVATORY CYCLE La Paz, smart city: urban innovation and sustainability, 2017.
Implementing projects focused on Smart City strategies requires teams of professionals who know the area and have proposals that can be implemented and agreed upon, in addition to governments that seek to generate this development for their cities and are open to listen to proposals.
