The Smartest City at the moment, and one where smart technology has been put into nearly every possible building, is Songdo.
Songdo has been labelled as the World's Smartest City and the City of the Future.
So what have the South Koreans done and why?
Songdo is a city that has been built from scratch on reclaimed land, some 65km away from Seoul.
It
is a private real estate development, and when finished will have
80,000 apartments, 50,000,000 sqm of office space and 10,000,000sqm of
retail space.
It will house around 50,000 as residents, with a further 50,000 commuting to work.
The
project was intended to show the world the technological prowess of
Korea and create a sustainable city. It has cost nearly $35 billion and
is due to be completed in 2017.
Tellingly, 40% of the city is slated to be 'parkland', which ties into the sustainability aspect of Songdo.
As far as Smart Cities go, it is exceptional.
Songdo has been inundated with sensors, which monitor temperature, energy use and traffic flow.
These sensors allow you to understand when your bus is due, and provide current updates on the surrounds.
Other innovations (that are nearly all world firsts for cities) include;
- charging stations for electric cars
- water recycling systems that uses recycled water to flush toilets
- waste disposal system that automatically sorts waste according to its danger to the environment
- internal monitoring systems within buildings that provide information on any maintenance or issues
Personally,
I think it is a great idea with fantastic innovation. Putting these
innovations into place in other established cities is another challenge
in itself.
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