![]() Smart cities have established strategic frameworks to identify, prioritize, and fund smart city initiatives. ![]() What makes a city smart? It’s not about technology IQ, but rather the careful application of the principles of purpose, planning, and process in developing and implementing initiatives that make a city smart: Especially since those networks are being funded by utility customer-citizens and in many cases are being digitally upgraded as utilities build out advanced metering infrastructure. It may be less efficient for the city to build a data network from scratch than to piggyback on the utility data network already in place. Most smart city visions call for one or both of these network capabilities. Energy utilities possess a physical network with a ubiquitous footprint underpinned by a data control network. There are many technologies that can be considered elements of a potential smart city plan, energy-given its technological maturity, pervasive application, and existing infrastructure-is often a good point of focus for city planners. In addition to these sectors, communications, healthcare, and education are also frequently referenced in smart city conceptual frameworks. Here is ScottMadden’s working definition: It is difficult to state with certainty today what the smart city of tomorrow, with all of its promises and possibilities, may look like. Finally, smart city is an evolving concept and a moving target. The menu of potential projects, applications, and technologies may be broad and diverse.įurther, many smart city projects are still in the early (pilot) phases, and few of the newest technologies have been fully rolled out or implemented at commercial scales. “Smart city” priorities are driven by the unique interests, challenges, and capabilities of a particular municipality. Like the smart grid, defining what exactly makes a city “smart” is inherently challenging. In many ways, the smart city is today what the smart grid was a few years ago-a term that is broadly used but without a consistent definition. In this paper, we provide a brief introduction to smart cities and a framework to help visualize potential components and identify a simple, step-wise path to successful support by energy utilities of their communities’ efforts to pursue “smart city” initiatives. Recently, there has been much discussion of smart cities. What Is A “Smart City”?Īs municipalities seek to grow and invest in infrastructure, there is pressure to modernize and incorporate new technologies, integrate sustainable resources and methods in order to increase the city’s attractiveness and productivity, and improve citizen satisfaction (and prospects for elected officials’ re-elections). This new report focuses on the idea of “smart cities.” To learn more, click the download button above or read the full summary below. Strategy Development and Implementation.Rate Case Planning, Management, and Support.Performance Assessment and Benchmarking.
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