Cities provide a hub of economic performance and opportunity – they are a source of employment, innovation, and production. Currently over half of the world’s population resides in urban areas, with this number expected to grow to over 68% by 2050. To accommodate such growth, it is now more important than ever to ensure that our cities are productive, accessible and improve the quality of life for people living within them. This requires designing systems and spaces that overcome challenges that exist within most cities – including congestion, poor access to jobs and services, poor air quality, housing inaccessibility due to reduced affordability, inefficient resource use (e.g. energy and water), and effective design of green spaces.

Technology plays an integral role in 'smartening' cities so that these challenges can be overcome, helping ensure that our cities grow into places that people enjoy living, working, studying and travelling in.

Smart Cities

What is a Smart City?

A Smart City uses technology to revolutionise the way that cities are designed, function, and grow.

This involves:

Using IoT to connect existing infrastructure with digital interfaces
Collecting and analysing data that is used to improve the experiences of people living in cities, and create more sustainable living environments.

According to the McKinsey Global Institute Analysis, the application of Smart Cities solutions can enhance the quality of life across a number of dimensions including improving safety, time efficiencies, decreasing the burden of health challenges, improving environmental quality and sustainability, enhancing connectedness and civic participation, increasing employment levels, and reducing the cost of living.

IoT and Smart City solutions

Innovative enhancements in technology mean that there are now countless IoT options available to monitor the flow of people and resources within a city environment.

'Smart' devices exist that can sense, monitor and record almost everything, from pedestrian flow and movement, waste levels in rubbish bins, free spaces in car parks, location of and paths taken by e-scooter riders, as well as energy and water generation and use.

Smart city decision-making requires that data is accessible, viewable, and in a format that is meaningful and easy to understand. This is where engaging with an IoT specialist can ensure that your data can be viewed and understood easily.

Indicium is a Smart Cities solutions expert

Indicium Dynamics understands the importance of having data that works for you. We have worked with a number of clients to develop solutions that fall within the Smart Cities concept.

We are experienced in selecting and integrating a wide range of devices, from weather stations, GPS trackers, and people counters, to water meters and waste level sensors.

Our solutions are developed with accessibility in mind, and we build tailored dashboards that allow the viewing of key data in one, easily accessible location. Our aim to is help improve organisational efficiencies for our clients, and our dashboards facilitate this via the ability to create and automate alerts that can be sent via email or text message.