CLIMATE CHANGE & SUSTAINABILITY 115
“ Today we witness a shift of the problematic from an infrastructure-led logic to a service-led economy . We are becoming less dependent from infrastructures : web , mobility , cloud computing helped to overcome the constraints of the old client / computing server relation ; and a modern browser has become the universal interface between all access points to information : smartphones , tablets or laptops , and applications .”
smart infrastructure but to produce and control the data - the Big Data – collected throughout the infrastructure networks . The key ingredient to develop smart solutions for cities is data that is not only necessary to plan the changes in the city , but also to gather real-time information to manage services and use infrastructure better .
And that shift is a unique chance for developing countries where urbanization is projected to be at its most rapid pace . Many have inadequate infrastructure that will require enormous investments to retrofit to standards . New cities require huge investments that developing countries need to balance with other priorities . Already facing increasing pressures to deliver more and better basic services to a growing urban population , countries will need support in exploring approaches that fit local contexts . The “ big data ” is part of the solution ; Kenya succeeded to “ monetise ” the country with the help of the mobile phone despite the lack of a sophisticated banking infrastructure .
Smart cities cannot be developed through a patchwork approach , but by the step-by-step adoption of incremental improvements . Integrating infrastructures and services depends strongly on interoperability ( i . e . devices and systems working together ), which in turn is facilitated by technical standards . As IEC said in its recent White Paper , standards are essential enablers by guaranteeing an expected performance level and compatibility between technologies .
Thus , It is the improvement and the integration of infrastructure policy with the comprehensive understanding of the city process as well as of the behaviour of their stakeholders , including citizen ’ s participation , which will make smart city become a reality .
After all it is on the social fabric , not only on economic competitiveness and cutting-edge infrastructure that resilient and sustainable cities are built .