SMART CITIES: SMART SERVICES: SMART WORKING EDITORIAL

Smart Cities – some positives & some questions to ponder

In focusing on ‘Smart Cities‘ let’s start with a few teaser questions.

What have the following got in common:

•    Searching for a parking space in San Francisco?

•    Buying groceries in a sort of ‘hipsterish’ supermarket in Amsterdam?

•    Taking a bus journey in Edinburgh with LRT?


All of them involve the possible use of  a smart phone app to carry out a transaction.

In SF you can search for parking spaces with the app and find out the price of the sppce you’re heading for and the period of time it’s available.  At present prices change over time depending on demand – and althgh that now extends over quite lengthy periods, you can envisage that at some point soon prices may change in real time.

In  Edinburgh it’s now possible to use  a phone app that you pre-load in order to show on entry to a bus to cover your ticket charge.  It’s an arrangement that avoids the fiddle of looking for small change to cover the correct fare.

In Amsterdam some stores and cafes are now using apps to pay for purchases, along with bank and credit cards; the explicit downside is that you can’t pay cash – no matter how trivial and low cost the purchase - a litre of milk for example.

And the unifying factor? The requirement to use technologies that you may not be comfortable with, may not like as a matter of principle or that may just not be available to you because of your financial circumstances.

Because at the heart of a Smart City is a harsh reality. It works for some of us, perhaps even a majority of us, but maybe not for the poor; maybe not for older people; maybe not for people who have learning and other difficulties. 

A lot can be found out by turning to the work of Anthony Townsend of the ‘Institute for the Future‘ based in - naturally - Palo Alto in home of the tech giants of the USA. He was interviewed recently by ‘Atlantic Cities‘.

By Professor Richard Kerley

Issue 8: January 2014

• Smarter cities, greener cities cost less to run
• The Future of Mobility - Economic and Transport Opportunity
• Will 2014 be the year that cities become even smarter?
• Geographic Information for Smart Working
• Smart Accelerator: Accelerating action to create smarter cities and regions
• Public Service Reform in an Enabling State: It's about people - not just curly cables
• Data's the way to do it as Glasgow fast forwards to the future
• Time To Start Powering Public Services?
• A 'Smart' Move for Scotland? Edinburgh Napier University's role in the EU Smart Cities Project
• Transport for Edinburgh - Integrated Transport for a Smart City
• "Smart" Opportunities for Scotland's Cities
• Co-ordinating Investment to Deliver 'Smart Places'
• Delivering a sustainable rail future

OTHER ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE

• Editorial
• Children - Putting Policy Into Practice
• Worth more than the First Minister? Senior Salaries in Scottish Quangos
• Success secrets shared: Learning from the best Mittelstand and British global niche champions
• Remembering John Muir
• Internship Can be Good For You
• Planning for Human Rights in Scotland
• Power to the People?
• Evidence exchange: sharing social policy lessons between neighbours
• Helping to build stronger communities across Scotland
• How Can We Engage The Disengaged?
• Pay as you Go?