As the embrace of technology changes how people perceive and experience life, digitization presents a powerful opportunity to enhance how they live within cities.
As a result, governments and city officials are building “Smart Cities” by leveraging latest technologies supported by next-generation city-wide infrastructure to better engage with their citizens. Success in Smart City development, however, demands a phased, holistic, citizen-centric approach.
Think of the following series of events in the day and life of people. A mother and homemaker starts her day. In the morning, she uses her mobile phone to check traffic routes to school, schedule an appointment at the public clinic, and secure a parking spot in front of the clinic before she arrives there. In the afternoon, she uses that same mobile phone to register her children in a government-sponsored book club and pay for petrol at the gas station, and before bed, she checks her daughter’s electronic medical records for her last vaccination date. Meanwhile, her neighbor, a middle-aged marketing professional, uses apps on his phone to locate the nearest pharmacy, pay his monthly municipality fees, order a toll road pass, and check on the progress of a postal delivery.
