Smart city

A smart city is an <a href="/facts/Urban_area/fu9v8h5P">urban area</a> that uses digital technology to <a href="/facts/Data_collection/rEGBdDzj">collect data</a> and to operate/provide services. Data can be collected from citizens, devices, buildings, or cameras. Applications include <a href="/facts/Transportation_systems_management/LeqfmlvW">traffic and transportation systems</a>, power plants, <a href="/facts/Public_utility/BzslJKc3">utilities</a>, <a href="/facts/Urban_forestry/uorcSlGl">urban forestry</a>, <a href="/facts/Water_supply_network/IXMHuvYQ">water supply networks</a>, <a href="/facts/Waste_management/EKXuEqQU">waste disposal</a>, criminal investigations, <a href="/facts/Information_system/apcSzFLh">information systems</a>, schools, libraries, hospitals, and other <a href="/facts/Community_service/4y5uRAX7">community services</a>. The foundation of a smart city is built on the integration of people, technology, and processes, which connect and interact across sectors such as healthcare, transportation, education, and infrastructure, etc. Smart cities are characterized by the ways in which their local governments monitor, analyze, plan, and govern the city. In a smart city, the sharing of data extends to businesses, citizens and other third parties who can derive benefit from using that data. The three largest sources of spending associated with smart cities as of 2022 were <a href="/facts/Visual_surveillance/1JCtvSmx">visual surveillance</a>, public transit, and outdoor lighting.
Smart cities integrate <a href="/facts/Information_and_communication_technology/wG6q8RfN">information and communication technology</a> (ICT), and devices connected to the <a href="/facts/Internet_of_things/rwwGAxn3">Internet of things</a> (IOT) network to optimize city services and connect to citizens. ICT can be used to enhance quality, performance, and interactivity of urban services, to reduce costs and <a href="/facts/Resource_consumption/CpFK27ok">resource consumption</a> and to increase contact between citizens and government. Smart city applications manage urban flows and allow for real-time responses. A smart city may be more prepared to respond to challenges than one with a conventional "transactional" relationship with its citizens. Yet, the term is open to many interpretations. Many cities have already adopted some sort of smart city technology.
Smart city initiatives have been criticized as driven by corporations, poorly adapted to residents' needs, as largely unsuccessful, and as a <a href="/facts/Surveillance_issues_in_smart_cities/ljvb4Ez0">move toward totalitarian surveillance</a>.

Smart city open-in-new

Smart city