Smart Cities

Smart Cities are the moment of the day with the government stressing on developing 100 smart cities and urban renewal for 500 cities. What is a smart city?, making use of digital technologies to enhance the performance and comfort, to reduce the overheads and consumption of resources and to provide a platform for the citizens were they can interact more efficiently and easily with the authorities, all these together make a smart city, which also includes different smart sectors like public health, transportation, energy, water and better management of waste. Using the PPP model would be very beneficial and essential in the smart city model not only for the required capital but also for the efficient delivery of utilities along with the proposed service oriented standards.

Proper disposal of effluents and the efficient and proper usage of water, waste, effluents and energy should be the key strategy in addressing the public health issues, and accordingly, waste to energy, solar and renewable energy; rain water harvesting and recycling of wastes should be main agenda for developing a smart city. Safety and security should be given extreme importance with an alarming rise in the no. of robberies and attacks on women and elderly people, cc cameras at all public places which are brightly lit, constant patrolling, quick response to emergency calls and only verified access of identity should be put up and monitored. Appropriate free schools for economically backward children, recreational and sports facilities, rehabilitation centers, entertainment centers, homes for the elderly and homeless children all should be addressed to achieve the tag of a smart city. Important cells should be formed to address the issues like women safety and harassment, corruption, prostitution and child labour.

A smart city makes use of technology to transform its primary systems. Information technology forms the core infrastructure of a smart city with data centers, Wi Fi zones,  cameras wireless devices and sensors forming the major services. The development of a smart city takes close to 20-30 years, every citizen should be a part of the development by maintaining personal discipline and hygiene in using the public utilities like roads, place of entertainment, parks and other public places. A city is smart only when the people of the city are smart by stopping littering, spitting and urinating in the public places. The development of smart cities is definitely a good way in making the cities sustainable, environment friendly and technologically advanced, at the same time villages should also become a part of this development, there are many villages which lack even the basic amenities such as proper roads, water, power, toilets and schools. It would be a great achievement if the smart tag is not limited to only certain cities and the facility is extended to create smart villages for the overall development of our country.