Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “smart city”
Author: Ricardo Tavares
Published: 2019-01-14
“We had no other option–we had no money,” Luciano Rezende told me when I asked him why he started a smart-city program in his town. Mr. Rezende is the Mayor of Vitória, a beautiful island-city of 400,000 people and the state capital of Espírito Santo in Southeast Brazil. He took office in 2013 during a severe fiscal crisis. The city …
Author: Michael Newlands
Published: 2017-03-16
One of the key indicators of a smart city is how accessible all the new digital services being generated are to the general public. Accessibility implies affordability and mechanisms to access the digital city resources. Because we live in the mobile broadband smartphone world, the apps which power the digital interfaces to city services must be available to all, even …
Author: Ricardo Tavares
Published: 2017-02-03
By the end of this year Planet Earth will be home to nearly 7.5bn people, 55% of whom will live in urban areas. By 2050, according to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the planet will have to support 9.8 billion people, 70% of them living in cities. This is the world we must plan for, starting right now. Citizens …
Author: Ricardo Tavares
Published: 2016-04-10
Amongst the various smart-city experiments in the Middle East, Riyadh is the most intriguing. It raises a big question: Can technology and new urban infrastructure advance social change? Saudi Arabia’s capital has allocated $5.6 bn to become smarter. In spite of low oil prices and an economic slowdown, the city remains a construction site. A new metro, more highways, and …
Author: Ricardo Tavares
Published: 2014-07-22
In the run up to Dubai Expo 2020, the Emirate’s government aims to make the City “the smartest city in the world” by digitally interconnecting all government services and most private economic and social activity. Establishing global leadership in smart cities will not be an easy task for Dubai as competition with more mature projects in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Chicago, New …
Author: Ricardo Tavares
Published: 2014-04-16
As part of its ambitious project to further modernise the country, the Government of the United Arab Emirates has launched a state-of-the-art, smart-learning programme. It is one of a number of initiatives taking place under the umbrella of “Vision 2021,” which in turn complements the economic focal point of Dubai Expo 2020. This world trade fair event will take place …