13.3 Smart City Concepts and Their Realization
13.3.1 Preconditions for the Realization of the SDGs
and Smart City Concepts
While the SDGs are not legally binding, governments are expected to take ownership and
establish national frameworks for the achievement of the 17 Goals. Countries have the
primary responsibility for follow-up and review of the progress made in implementing the
Goals, which will require quality, accessible and timely data collection. Regional follow-up
and review will be based on national-level analyses and contribute to follow-up and review
at the global level. (UN 2018c)
This statement reflects the UN’s philosophy to think globally and to act locally,
also intrinsic to the Agenda 21 as precursor for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development issuing the SDGs. It also shows that the UN considers data collection
as indispensable for the SDGs, reminding the precursors of Smart Cities, e.g., Los
Angeles in the 1960s and 1970s which relied on Big Data – gathered by the
Community Analysis Bureau (Valianatos 2015).
Advanced Smart City projects emerged in 2005, when Bill Clinton encouraged
network equipment maker Cisco “. . .to make cities more sustainable” (Falk 2012).
Supported by the Clinton Foundation, Cisco started a 5-year-research program
culminating in the Connected Urban Development program involving the cities of
San Francisco, Amsterdam, and Seoul where the technology’s potential was tested
on pilot projects. In 2010, Cisco launched its Smart and Connected Communities
division, commercializing the products and services developed during this program
(Falk 2012). Independently, IBM also started to promote technology to make cities
“smarter", focusing on information management, analytical algorithms, and data
processing. By comparison, Cisco’s Smart City projects include brownfield projects
like its partnership with New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority to improve rail
and station monitoring, as well as greenfield sites like Songdo, South Korea (Falk
2012).
Modern Smart City concepts incorporate the extensive use of ICT, applied to a
variety of urban development fields (infrastructure, buildings, mobility, services, and
security) - reportedly in favor of resource and energy efficiency, economic competitiveness, and life quality of city dwellers (Libbe 2014). In so far, Smart City projects
seem to fit very well into the basic concept of the UN’s SDGs at first glance. Both
rely on Big Data to fulfill their objectives.
13.3.2 Drivers and Driving Forces for Smart Cities
Drivers for Smart City initiatives are demographic change, development toward the
digital society, budget finances, international location competition, environmental
goals, as well as re-urbanization, i.e., “. . .the development of new homes, businesses, and community facilities within existing urban areas. . .” (Projektgruppe
214
O. Schwarz-Herion
13.3.1 Preconditions for the Realization of the SDGs
and Smart City Concepts
While the SDGs are not legally binding, governments are expected to take ownership and
establish national frameworks for the achievement of the 17 Goals. Countries have the
primary responsibility for follow-up and review of the progress made in implementing the
Goals, which will require quality, accessible and timely data collection. Regional follow-up
and review will be based on national-level analyses and contribute to follow-up and review
at the global level. (UN 2018c)
This statement reflects the UN’s philosophy to think globally and to act locally,
also intrinsic to the Agenda 21 as precursor for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development issuing the SDGs. It also shows that the UN considers data collection
as indispensable for the SDGs, reminding the precursors of Smart Cities, e.g., Los
Angeles in the 1960s and 1970s which relied on Big Data – gathered by the
Community Analysis Bureau (Valianatos 2015).
Advanced Smart City projects emerged in 2005, when Bill Clinton encouraged
network equipment maker Cisco “. . .to make cities more sustainable” (Falk 2012).
Supported by the Clinton Foundation, Cisco started a 5-year-research program
culminating in the Connected Urban Development program involving the cities of
San Francisco, Amsterdam, and Seoul where the technology’s potential was tested
on pilot projects. In 2010, Cisco launched its Smart and Connected Communities
division, commercializing the products and services developed during this program
(Falk 2012). Independently, IBM also started to promote technology to make cities
“smarter", focusing on information management, analytical algorithms, and data
processing. By comparison, Cisco’s Smart City projects include brownfield projects
like its partnership with New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority to improve rail
and station monitoring, as well as greenfield sites like Songdo, South Korea (Falk
2012).
Modern Smart City concepts incorporate the extensive use of ICT, applied to a
variety of urban development fields (infrastructure, buildings, mobility, services, and
security) - reportedly in favor of resource and energy efficiency, economic competitiveness, and life quality of city dwellers (Libbe 2014). In so far, Smart City projects
seem to fit very well into the basic concept of the UN’s SDGs at first glance. Both
rely on Big Data to fulfill their objectives.
13.3.2 Drivers and Driving Forces for Smart Cities
Drivers for Smart City initiatives are demographic change, development toward the
digital society, budget finances, international location competition, environmental
goals, as well as re-urbanization, i.e., “. . .the development of new homes, businesses, and community facilities within existing urban areas. . .” (Projektgruppe
214
O. Schwarz-Herion