Europe’s cities are becoming smarter. The cutting edge technologies deployed across the continent’s capitals are fundamentally changing the way they function.
Today’s ‘Bloomberg Technology Conference: Smarter Cities’ event in Finsbury Square provided an energetic discussion on all of these topics. Speakers from the likes of IBM, BT and the Greater London Authority examined the challenges and opportunities facing tech companies, service providers and local government around London’s status as an important digital city.
What we concluded from the day was that smart cities are one of the most nuanced and complicated applications of technology possible. Overlaying a system as complex as a global city with a comprehensive, connected digital framework is a major challenge that requires the commitment of many stakeholders.
Ultimately, this is a challenge of infrastructure. A digital industry has sprung to life in an historic city, which was built for a very different purpose. The capital’s culture and heritage plays a huge part in its attractiveness as a place to live and work. But planners, service providers and businesses alike nevertheless face the difficulty of seeking to retrofit 21st century networks into a city where the modern still lives side-by-side with the medieval.
However, the opportunities are enormous. The dream of a smart city will bring improved efficiencies, reduced public spending and room for a population set to beak ten million to maneuver.
Many events during London Technology Week have focused on the concept of smart cities, but confusion remains around what this term actually means. The best way to envisage this trend of innovation is by focusing on the benefits it would bring in four key areas – housing, security, energy and transport.
According to analysis by the National Housing Federation earlier this year, only one third of new homes needed in London were built in 2014. More than 37,500 more houses need to be built to keep up with demand. However, it is estimated that there are 80,000 empty homes in London. Clearly, we need to make more of the limited housing resources that we have. Regeneration through new technologies can ensure that no space is wasted.
Technology can also improve London’s security systems. In 2014, 81% of large companies experienced some sort of security breach, costing on average between £600,000 and £1.5m. A more tactful approach to security can minimise these threats, improving the ways organisations deal with digital challenges and allowing them to reappropriate funds to other departments.
The amount of energy that we use in the capital is simply not sustainable. Each year London consumes around 400,000Wh of energy, which is the equivalent to the total consumption by Scotland. Digital services can slash energy consumption, passing the savings on to taxpayers and government alike.
Public transport powers London’s economy. It gives everyone the ability to travel across the city, to and from their jobs. However, by 2050 it is estimated that the demand for public transport will increase by 50%. Technology has the capacity to make transport more efficient and cheaper for both the customer and service provider. There are sizeable opportunities for civilians and government alike if data sets are made readily available.
It has been a brilliant to see London’s business leaders, strategists and policy makers look to the capital’s future, with technology firmly part of this vision. More than any other, this is an area that needs a focal point such as London Technology Week to bring together the stakeholders involved in the evolution of a megalopolis. The intention is there, now the commitment must be to maintain the connections and ideas made in the last four days and apply them to real change in the coming months.
As I said at the Bloomberg Live Smarter Cities Conference today that when we look at the future of what cities look like, there is no better city to watch than London.