Expo 2022: The Future of the Smart City

Back in March, Doha hosted the Smart City Expo 2022. Over two days, more than 70 world-renowned smart city experts from 60 countries came together to focus on the challenges facing tomorrow's cities and discuss how best to solve them. 

And for Africa in particular, their ideas make for essential reading. Several recent studies predict that by 2100, 13 of the world's 20 largest cities will be in Africa – up from just two today. As industrialisation and urbanisation continue to drive the continent's growth, we must ensure that growth is sustainable, equitable, and delivers for everyone.

This blog will outline how some ideas from Expo 2022 might support this, alongside detailing a few ways African cities are already starting to embrace them. 

Sustainability

Sustainability is at the heart of the smart city model. Worryingly, cities currently account for over 70% of global carbon emissions – a number that's increasing year on year. To mitigate this, smart city planners must create ways to manage effectively and sustainably everything from transport to energy and water resources. And that will involve smart technology.

Imagine a city where traffic lights receive traffic data in real-time and then change to improve traffic flow. Or where smart bins tell collection trucks when they're full to prevent wasted journeys. A city where intelligent streetlights dim when no one's around but return to full brightness when they detect a passing person, bicycle, or car. 

These ideas are not as futuristic as you might think. Across the globe, technology like this is already being rolled out, and I’m proud to say, Africa is playing its part.

Cococdy on the Ivory Coast is already leveraging such tech to deliver a more sustainable future. As part of their plan to cut carbon emissions by 70% by 2030, they are installing 5,000 solar lampposts, supplying 20,000 households with solar power kits, and distributing 300,000 efficient cooking stoves. These stoves will run on the ethanol produced by local sugarcane manufacturers.

Inclusion

While urbanisation has helped improve the lives of millions of people worldwide, there are often significant disparities between city dwellers. In the developing world, one in three urban residents still does not have access to basic services. Expo 2022 was clear we mustn't deepen this inequality by concentrating smart technology in high-income areas, thereby failing to distribute its benefits equitably.

Smart city initiatives need to engage everybody in the community and consider residents' differing requirements. They need to allow individuals to communicate easily with local government so authorities can better align services with needs, proactively responding to issues before they arise. 

Rwanda is currently leading the line in such inclusive innovation. At the heart of the modernisation of Kigali is the desire to increase and simplify access to public services. Their digital Irembo platform seeks to create an 'e-government' that enables citizens to complete nearly all public processes online, such as registering for driving tests or requesting birth certificates.

Safety

A recent McKinsey study suggested that smart technologies could help cities reduce crime by 30-40% and enable up to 35% faster response times for emergency services. The main reason for this is the capacity of modern digital platforms to gather and analyse large volumes of data from multiple sources in real-time.

The results would then highlight patterns and predict the likelihood of a crime occurring in a particular area – meaning police can head off incidents before they happen. Plus, if a crime does take place, facial recognition, licence place recognition, and object detection can speed up the response of law enforcement.

Operators in a central control room can stay on top of everything on the ground through bodycam footage relayed back by first responders. And intelligent software can help protect citizens by prompting automated security responses. For example, if sensors pick up a gunshot, they can turn up local streetlights in the surroundings or sound an audible alarm.

Kigali offers us a great example of how smart technology is already being used to address traffic offences: In recent years, some motorcycle taxis' behaviour had become a problem. Many were riding against traffic, jumping lights, and parking illegally. That was until President Kagame's administration found a digital solution.

They mandated that every motorbike be fitted with a GPS locator, so their movements could be monitored from a central digital dashboard in real-time. Drivers were warned that traffic offences would be heavily penalised. And, almost overnight, the problem disappeared.

These are just a few examples of how smart technology can deliver sustainable, safe, and inclusive spaces for us all to enjoy. Have you seen any similar ideas you want to share? Connect with me here, and let’s get a conversation going.