Why Smart Cities Will be Driven by Innovative Collaboration: T-Hub

#News(General) [ via IoTForIndiaGroup ]

One of the primary reasons for Singapore’s rapid ascent on the global smart city index can be credited to its government’s strategic vision to invest in technology and connectivity infrastructure for a more sustainable future. Its Smart Nation initiative is a game-changing public-private partnership that has seen startups lead the way in solving local problems. For example, Grab, Singapore’s leading ride-hailing provider, has partnered with the government for intelligent traffic-management system that reduces the number of cars on the roads as well as the country’s pollution.
However, can Singapore’s impressive smart city model be replicated in India? The answer undoubtedly lies in an effective and integrated approach to building India’s smart cities of tomorrow. Towards this end, all principal stakeholders in the country’s vibrant entrepreneurial community — startups, large corporations and the government — should join forces to spearhead innovation in smart city technology.
The unique dynamics between the key participants in the startup innovation ecosystem will narrate India’s smart city story. While transitioning to a smart city, the public and private sectors will need to collaborate to find disruptive solutions to basic citizen services, such as electricity, water usage and road development. The government has to encourage an atmosphere of innovation and offer enormous resources to lay the foundation for smart cities. Investing in smart cities gives companies an opportunity to leverage their brand, mentor startups and network to create new revenue streams — not to mention the immense clout at the government level. As for startups, they are backed by a strong support system that gives them the creative space to unleash out-of-the-box ideas on the smart city landscape.
Such collective efforts would lead to a larger customer base for the smart city and new revenue opportunities for all players. But how is this translating on the ground in the Indian context?

Outside learnings
Notwithstanding concerted efforts from the principal stakeholders, the implementation of smart cities over the last five years has been riddled with challenges. For one, there is friction between the central government and the states’ municipal bodies. Also, despite being greenlit, there has been no movement in various development projects across cities, either due to infrastructural barriers like congested roads; or lack of basic amenities like water; or other roadblocks like untreated sewerage, skill gap and legacy technologies.
Furthermore, there are lacunae in the current regulatory framework policy that overlook social inclusivity, citizens’ security and privacy issues and inadequate financial avenues to implement the smart cities projects.
What does this setback imply for the future of public-private partnership in the nation’s smart city ecosystem? This would be the opportune time for India to look to other countries that have built some of the most exemplary and inclusive smart cities in the world, where they put people first.
Take for instance Barcelona that boasts of cutting-edge sustainable technological infrastructure, public transportation services, 500 km of optical fibre, sensor lighting coupled with free WiFi, and parking sensors to enable smart parking. The country’s smart city strategy is a resounding success since the policy makers adopted a citizen-centric approach to implementing solutions. Moreover, they also encourage the public and private sectors to collaborate on innovative ideas with the aim to serve the people instead of only focusing on the use of new technologies. The city’s transparent governance model allows citizens to discuss the government’s policy proposals and suggest their own.

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