Guide to Building Smart Cities for People in a Hurry

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Cities around the world are racing to become “smart cities” — urban areas that use data and technology to improve services, sustainability and quality of life. It’s an exciting vision of the future that’s capturing headlines. But many smart city projects end up being more hype than help for the average person.

So how can we build smart cities that truly make life better for citizens? This article shares ideas to create “effective smart cities” — ones that spread opportunity and solve real problems.

Moving From Hype to Help

When you hear “smart city,” you may picture gleaming towers, self-driving cars and holograms. The sci-fi fantasies are compelling. No wonder governments and tech companies hype this vision of the future to attract investment and attention.

But often, big ideas fall short. Pilot projects don’t scale. Fancy apps flop. Data goes unused. And people’s lives don’t measurably improve.

Rather than chasing the hype, effective smart cities focus on progress. They use technology to enhance:

• Equity — ensuring all groups benefit, not just the affluent few
• Sustainability — reducing environmental impact and building resilience
• Quality of life — improving services, safety, health and economic opportunities

The key is measuring if innovations actually make life better, not just sounding cool. And prioritizing help, not hype.

Start With People, Not Technology

Too often, smart cities start with technology and vendors in search of problems to solve. This gets things backwards.

For smart cities to work, people must be at the center. Residents should shape priorities based on their needs and aspirations. Smart city leaders must listen first, through surveys, focus groups and hackathons to spark inclusive innovations.

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Some ways to make smart cities more people-powered:

• Digital inclusion programs ensure everyone has Internet access and tech skills. This allows more voices to be heard in designing solutions.
• Participatory budgeting gives citizens direct say in allocating funds for community projects. Tech can expand access and convenience of voting.
• Citizen advisory councils help city departments develop smart city plans across topics like transit, policing, parks and housing.
• User-centered design brings actual users into prototyping and testing processes to create tech and services that work for real life.

When people lead in determining priorities rather than just being passive consumers of tech, smart cities evolve to meet the needs of all.

Spread Solutions Through Open Collaboration

Many smart cities try expensive new technology pilots that don’t scale or share lessons learned. This repetition drives up costs while limiting impact.

Forward-thinking cities know their most “powerful innovation” is sharing what works so others can adapt solutions rather than reinventing the wheel.

Strategies like:

• Publishing toolkits and “playbooks” with practical guides and resources on successful smart city projects.
• Opening data platforms and application programming interfaces (APIs), so more users can build on successes.
• Forming open-source collaborations between city governments, companies, universities and community groups to jointly create and implement solutions.
• Peer-to-peer knowledge exchanges where cities teach each other about effective programs in site visits and workshops.

Taking an open, collaborative approach spreads solutions faster while driving down costs. The future is one of cities developing and disseminating innovations together. No need to go it alone.

Focus on Progress, Not Hype

Too often smart city leaders think superficial success is enough — announcing splashy partnerships, pilots and visions that may or may not improve communities long-term.

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To build lasting trust and results, smart cities must:

• Set community-driven goals and track if they’re met using key performance indicators like reduced emissions, travel times, crime and energy use. Measure what matters for people.
• Take the long view with sustained plans, funding and depoliticized implementation. Building effective smart cities takes decades of pragmatic progress, not years of flashy pilots.
• Share data on performance transparently so all stakeholders can monitor and improve programs. This builds accountability and collective wisdom.

With evidence-driven decisions and a focus on equitable progress, people will embrace technology that enhances lives. And other cities will emulate success, spreading sustainable solutions.

The Future Can Be Bright

Done right, smart cities create opportunity to improve life at scale. But hype doesn’t help. The path forward requires:

• People-first approaches that empower diverse voices to shape community priorities and innovations.
• Open collaboration to spread what works rather than reinventing the wheel city by city.
• Transparent evaluation of progress toward goals like sustainability, equity and quality of life for all

With inclusive participation, shared knowledge and pragmatic focus on outcomes, smart cities can deliver on the promise of using technology and data to improve life in communities worldwide. The future is bright when smart cities are designed for and by the people.

The author of this article, Non Arkara, is an architect and anthropologist who serves as a senior smart city expert in Thailand. With over a decade of experience pioneering smart city initiatives across Thailand, Non draws on his professional practice to share insights on how cities can effectively cultivate smart technology as soft power for global good. Non brings multidisciplinary training from MIT, Oxford and Harvard that combines technology, design and social sciences. He is passionate about creating people-centric smart cities that catalyze opportunity and improve quality of life worldwide.