Definitions of a smart city vary. One looks like this:
Cardiff as a smart city invests in its transport and ICT infrastructure to ensure that its education, social, welfare and economic development continues to improve throughout the 21st century, with a subsequent increase in sustainable uses of natural resources and quality of life.
But surely it's much simpler – a smart city is one where people are proud to live, work and play. It's all about people.
Cardiff was announced in 2008 by City and Guilds as the UK skills capital, offering one of the highest skilled workforces in the UK. It has seen impressive economic growth and significant investment in infrastructure which lies at the heart of its growing international profile.
Heavy industry has given way to dynamic knowledge driven sectors competing at the highest level. The last ten years have seen the docklands transformed into a successful business, cultural and leisure destination. This physical transformation has been mirrored by the continued growth of the creative industries in the city, and now Cardiff is one of the largest media centres outside London.
Cardiff is an established and thriving international business location. Over 400 companies have set up facilities in the Cardiff region and in recent years there has been a surge in technology intensive investments.
We are also a thriving knowledge economy, boasting above average employment in knowledge intensive sectors, a growing research and development base and a burgeoning innovation culture. It is home to three renowned universities and offers easy access to a further five. Cardiff sits on the hub of an international transport network that connects the city to London, Europe and beyond. It is only one and a half hours from Heathrow, the world's busiest international airport. It also benefits from its own airport handling well over a million passengers per year.
Cardiff is one of the UK's Super Connected Cities and as such is home to an increasingly competitive fixed telecoms market and has a number of telecoms providers offering high-speed fibre and wireless solutions. It also has an expanding base of smaller independent suppliers which have grown from the base of large ICT and media companies based in the city.
Cardiff has been at the forefront of wireless roll-out in the UK. As well as being a 4G connected city, it was the first city in the UK to have significant wireless coverage, and has become one of the first to benefit from a contiguous free wireless network across its central business district.
Cardiff attracts twelve million visitors a year. It is described as the "epitome of cool" by the Lonely Planet travel guide and thirteenth must-see global destination by the Frommer Guide. Home to world class sporting and cultural venues, such as the 75,000 capacity Millennium Stadium and the Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff has established itself as an iconic sporting and cultural destination. In 2006 in an EU urban audit perception survey its residents believed the city was one of Europe's best "as a place to live and work".
The Super Connected City project has seen the number of superfast broadband suppliers rise from eight to 58 over the past year. The 4G coverage and increasing free WiFi coverage brings with it the opportunity to use the new connectivity and data gathering opportunities to solve common problems in the city. This super connectivity now enables data to be gathered to assist in transport and traffic management.
Similarly it will allow energy monitoring and control, new street lighting strategies with greater control of new LED lighting equipment and numerous other opportunities in social care, education and social inclusion that become available with the knowledge and super connectivity Cardiff has obtained.
How do you get the best outcome from this new connectivity and data analysis?
Firstly, you must involve the people who actually know what problems and opportunities prevail in a city: those who work in service areas within the local authority, who deal with the day-to-day operation in those services and want to see improvement. But residents and businesses should also be included, so they can use the information to improve their lives and markets.
Secondly, you must find out what really needs to be done to change things for the better. Only when the data and opportunities have been identified should the IT companies be called in, and then only on specific opportunities. Otherwise the city will be led by IT solutions, not by the needs of the place and its people. So the people who live, work and play in the city must decide on how it evolves with help from the data gathered from super connectivity and solutions delivered via "expert" smart city practitioners.
Jim Smart is director of the Cardiff Smart City Initiative. Content on this page is produced and controlled by Tata Consultancy Services
