How Smart Cities and Communities Could Be As Revolutionary As the Smart Phone
The iPhone introduced us to at least two phenomena that will forever change the way we interact with technology – ‘smart phones’ and apps. Today, we don’t use the term ‘smart phones’ anymore, they are simply our cell phones.
There is a lot of conversation about smart cities, or smart communities. What are smart communities and how will they change the way we live in the coming years and decades? At some point in time, communities will not be known as ‘smart’, just simply the new norm, like cell phones.
The British Standards Institute (BSI) defines a smart city as “the effective integration of physical, digital and human systems in the built environment to deliver sustainable, prosperous and inclusive future for its citizens”
What does this really mean? What about communities in New Brunswick? How can we leverage digital technologies and data to make our communities ‘smarter’? We don’t have the size or scale of Toronto, New York or London, so what can we do?
The first thing we must do is identify the challenges and opportunities facing our communities and if feasible, design and build solutions accordingly, at our scale.
I have met with over 100 community leaders around the province during the last few months to discuss our challenges for the Cities of New Brunswick Association Smart Communities Project.
Common themes that have clearly emerged in these conversations include:
- Helping our aging population live independently longer and safer;
- Improving our ability to respond and adapt to extreme weather events;
- Population growth and economic development;
- Local and regional mobility;
- Quality Internet access;
- Food security, and;
- Improving communication in communities about events, recreation, public works and volunteering prospects.
It is time to stop thinking of these as problems and look at them as opportunities.
Two examples that are already in place are www.connectfredericton.ca, a website that connects people to volunteer organizations and www.readypass.ca, an app that helps improve public transit rider access while improving the agency’s operating efficiencies.
Future technologies could include a ‘small town Uber’ app that reduces our need for two cars per household (or perhaps no cars), and the ‘Uberizing’ of local food distribution to improve access to locally grown food grown while lowering transportation costs.
Apps employing artificial intelligence can help promote rural events and businesses to wider audiences without having to do additional work, increasing tourism revenue in our province.
Technologies are available today to help elderly adults’ reduce their risk of falls, ensure their medications are taken at the right times and improve communication with family members and caregivers. These technologies are currently not bundled well or financially accessible to those in need, smart communities can make that happen, while likely reducing health care costs at the same time.
We have the potential to develop these technologies in New Brunswick – for the benefit of our society, economy and environment. We should export these technologies, ultimately helping grow our economy and quality of life. If we don’t do it here and now, someone else will elsewhere. We will end up importing these technologies instead, just as we do now with numerous products and services.
The Cities of New Brunswick Association is hosting a one day Smart Communities Symposium on Wednesday, March 28 in Fredericton. Speakers from Parkland County, Alberta, Cork, Ireland, Fredericton and Dieppe will share their smart community successes and several New Brunswick based smart businesses will be featured. Event information is available at www.8citiesnb.com.
Just like smart-phone technology changed our lives forever, smart communities will help improve our quality of life as we age, the way we move around town, and our ability to respond and adapt to extreme weather events. We have the opportunity to turn these challenges into social, environmental and economic benefits.
Peter Corbyn is managing the Cities of New Brunswick Association Smart Communities Project, an initiative open to all municipalities and regions in our province. Corbyn has focused on various aspects of sustainability and technology for more than 25 years. He lives in Hanwell, New Brunswick.