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FEATURE: SMART CITIES
cities are planned, designed, serviced,
governed and financed is material to our
happiness and prosperity and the health
of our society – and the natural systems on
which all life depends.
Urbanisation, demographic shift,
environmental changes and new
technologies are reshaping the way city
leaders are looking at sustainability as well
as how they deliver on public services to
address these new dynamics.
However, currently, in the local context, most
attention is focused on the comparison of
cities today – how developed, evolved and
competitive or resilient they are. Where
we need to turn our lens to the future and
explore how our cities are identifying and
responding to the challenges they will face in
the future too.
We need to consider how city planning is
preparing for a future shaped by the major
urban transitions of our day including
urbanisation; density and growth; digital
disruption; emerging mobility; evolving
utilities models and a changing climate.
The rise of Smart Cities is the response to
these challenges, as Smart Cities innately
offer more solutions to address many
previous and persisting economic and social
inequalities by bridging societal divides.
Resilience and liveability must therefore be the
desired outcomes sought through planning
and design processes. Achieving these
outcomes will require respecting and balancing
local environmental, social, economic and
climate risk priorities through a robust planning
and data-driven design process.
And ultimately the goal should be that we
are building liveable spaces that are peoplecentric,
integrated, connected, smart, nimble
and resilient – where societies can thrive, well
into the future. •
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INTELLIGENTCIO
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