OBS Report: Smart Cities
Citizen trust, ethics and cybersecurity are the major challenges for Smart Cities
- Connectivity in many smart cities today is insufficient to cope with the huge amount of data being generated.
- The Spanish population of cities will double by 2050. The data generated by sensors will exceed 73 zettabytes and managing it will be a huge challenge.
- The great challenges for Smart Cities: generating trust in citizens through clear and rigorous regulations, avoiding the dehumanisation of services and determining what to teach AI so that it is capable of making fair and equitable decisions.
October 2024. OBS Business School, an institution belonging to Planeta Formación y Universidades, publishes the Smart Cities report, directed by Professor Víctor Ruiz Ezpeleta, which analyses the progress of the most cutting-edge European cities and the forecasts for the future.
Cities today play a key role in achieving climate neutrality by 2050 (the goal of the European Green Pact), as they occupy only 4% of the EU's land area but are home to 75% of its citizens, consume more than 65% of the world's energy and are responsible for more than 70% of global CO2 emissions. In Spain, 69% of the population currently resides in cities, and the expectation is that this trend will continue to almost double by 2050.
Technology in Smart Cities
The incorporation of IoT and AI-driven data analytics is making cities more efficient and sustainable spaces that improve quality of life by regulating traffic, energy and infrastructure management, as well as pollution and public safety. Anonymously shared location data, for example, can help delivery companies optimise their routes, enabling more successful first-time deliveries and reducing the need for additional visits. In 2021 there were more than 10 billion IoT devices and by 2025 the amount of data generated globally is projected to exceed 73 zettabytes, meaning managing it will be a huge challenge. Smart cities are deploying thousands of sensors and the cloud plays a crucial role in storing and analysing this vast amount of information. However, despite its relevance, the cloud requires networks with high bandwidth and low latency, and currently connectivity in many smart cities is insufficient.
The deployment of 5G technology is in the process of expanding, offering a faster and more affordable solution, but also overcoming these limitations by introducing edge computing, an approach that brings data processing closer to its source, i.e. the device itself, eliminating the need to send data to remote centres and reducing response times.
Risks and challenges
The mass deployment of cameras, sensors and data collection systems can lead to an invasion of privacy and there is a risk that mass surveillance can be exploited by governments or companies to control or manipulate the population. Clear and rigorous regulation will therefore be essential, and smart cities will need to build citizens' trust around the management and security of their data to drive their participation.
Private companies and governments also need to work together, yet many business leaders are still reluctant to share data with external partners. The use of technologies also brings with it a cybersecurity challenge, as a cyber-attack could bring essential services to a standstill. Contingency plans must therefore be prepared. On the other hand, the excessive use of AI could lead to the dehumanisation of public services, which is particularly critical when it comes to healthcare or social services, where human contact is crucial. The big challenge is to determine what AI should be taught to be able to make fair and egalitarian decisions, because ethics and feelings are complex aspects to be developed by technology. In the face of all these challenges, new regulations are needed.
Transport
Smart transport includes high-impact measures such as congestion pricing (paying a premium to access roads and services during peak hours), which in theory provides a strong disincentive to join traffic during high-volume periods. Then there are demand-based parking charges, which are not very complex to design, but require data- and sensor-based technology.
On-demand transport and smart parking are also being implemented, technologies that let you know which parking spaces are available in a given area through sensors and apps. Barcelona has already implemented some pilot tests with good results.
There are also technologies that allow users to choose the fastest means of transport at any given moment via their mobile phone. The Copenhagen Wheel project makes it possible to convert any bicycle into an electric bicycle by replacing the rear wheel with another with an electric motor. Bicycle sharing is also very present in the smartest cities (Spain is the third country in the world behind China and France). Catalonia, Andalusia and Madrid are the three communities with the highest number of shared bicycles.
However, what will really revolutionise cities will be the arrival of the autonomous car, which will give a new vision of driving and the use of time, and which will pose a huge challenge for adapting the environment.
Water and energy
Water management, along with the stable supply of electricity, are huge challenges at this stage of digitalisation. One solution that would greatly improve cities is to store rainwater in buildings so that it can be reused in toilets or for irrigation. This is already being done in new buildings with LEED Platinum certification; the One Bryant Park building in New York and the American football stadium in Chicago are two examples.
Moreover, buildings are responsible for 40% of all energy consumed in the world and 36% of CO2 emissions in the EU. However, 75% of them are energy inefficient. EU targets include reducing energy consumption by 6% and emissions by 5% over the next few years by modernising buildings: sectoral heating control, lighting and ventilation. Funds from the Next Generation programme are being earmarked for this purpose. One example is the building of the Hospitalet de Llobregat City Council (Barcelona), which has recently been remodelled, achieving savings of around 60%.
London: the SMARTest city in the world
London stands out for its advanced green infrastructure; it leads Europe in the number of public electric vehicle chargers and green-certified buildings. Its vision as a smart city is underpinned by the availability of open data and an information-centric approach that shares a wealth of municipal data.
In the area of mobility and transport, advanced payment systems have been implemented for public transport and significant funds have been allocated to the public transport management company (Transport for London) for projects including LED lighting, solar panels in underground stations and energy improvements in its buildings. Cycling is becoming increasingly common (over 12,000 bicycles are available at 800 stations). And on the environmental front, London is aiming to achieve net zero emissions by 2030, implementing ultra-low emission zones and using waste heat from the tube to improve air quality.
In terms of security, the city has integrated an extensive network of 5G technology, sensors, cameras, drones and robotics to ensure effective monitoring and rapid response to incidents.
In Spain: Barcelona and Madrid
Barcelona occupies a prominent position as a smart city at European and world level. As demonstrated by the development of the new MareNostrum 5 supercomputer, one of the most powerful in the world, Barcelona is one of the most important technology centres in existence today. This development at the service of the scientific community will allow the study and implementation of complex projects that until now could not be developed.
The city's star urban planning project is the remodelling of the Futbol Club Barcelona stadium area, which is being carried out using smart mobility, sustainability and inclusivity criteria. In terms of mobility, highlights include electric scooters equipped with AI, the extension of cycle lanes and the reduction of space for private vehicles, modular cabins capable of creating workspaces in public areas, smart bins that sort waste on their own and autonomous buses for public transport, among others. In order to centralise and manage the huge amount of data, Barcelona uses a platform called Sentilo, an open source system where data can be easily entered and viewed by both citizens and suppliers..
Madrid is also one of the smartest cities in Spain, having implemented a smart waste management infrastructure that has been deemed the ‘most advanced in Europe’. Advances in mobility, both in the EMT bus fleet, with full electrification, and in the bicimad system (and its new MPass payment option), are also key to strengthening its leadership as a ‘smart city’. Madrid is among the top five cities in the world with exemplary transport systems, alongside New York, London, Paris and Berlin. Of particular note is the technological transformation of the La Elipa Operations Centre and its photovoltaic installation, considered a global benchmark.
Content written by:
Carmen García-Trevijano
OBS Business School's Press Office