Urbanized Cities 2.0

By+Deng+Yaqing

Unmanned cars automatically avoid traffic jams， air temperatures and pollution particles at construction sites are monitored in real-time， and firefighters can see video footage of fires from the scene， before setting out to tackle the flames.

Thats not a dream world， but a real prospect for smart cities， which became a hot topic and one of the proposals put forward at a recent APEC forum on urbanization.

Themed on urbanization and inclusive growth， the First APEC High-level Urbanization Forum was convened in Ningbo， a coastal city in east Chinas Zhejiang Province， from June 2 to 3， attracting more than 200 government officials， scholars and enterprises from 21 countries and regions.

Currently， a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial reform is gaining momentum， and urbanization is accelerating throughout the world. In the next three or four decades， there will be tremendous opportunities for APEC members to collaborate on urbanization projects， said Xu Shaoshi， Chairman of Chinas National Development and Reform Commission（NDRC）， at the opening ceremony.

In 2014， the urban population of APEC member economies hit 1.77 billion， 61 percent of their combined population. According to estimates by the World Bank， those urban populations are expected to reach 2.38 billion in 2050， 77 percent of the APEC member economies total.

At the forum， APEC economies jointly released the Ningbo Initiative， acknowledging that urbanization is a necessary path toward modernization and a major engine for sustainable development.

The Asia-Pacific economies are in different urbanization stages yet share potential for complementary development and cooperation. Therefore， urbanization has been recognized as a frontier for regional cooperation， according to the Ningbo Initiative.

Intelligent cities

“Smart cities are a strategic path leading toward urbanization， and its also an important feature of urbanization，” said Wan Yong， Mayor of Wuhan， capital of central Chinas Hubei Province.

A smart city is an urban development vision which integrates multiple information and intellectual technology solutions in a secure fashion to manage a citys assets. This includes， but is not limited to， information systems of local departments， schools， libraries， transportation systems， hospitals， power plants， water supply networks and other community services.

Smart cities can tap into both the potential for domestic consumption contained in urbanization， as well as the drive for informatization.

“Smart cities should not only feature high efficiency， but also make life more comfortable for urban citizens，” said CY Yeung， Director of Corporate Responsibility at Intel China， which believes that community residents should be the main force pushing forward the building of smart cities， rather than enterprises or governments.

This view echoed that of Zhang Liming， General Manager of electronics manufacturer China Hualu Group， who suggested that governments should play a guiding role， enterprises should serve as constructors， and citizens should be the hosts of smart cities， with the final aim of improving peoples living standards. “Citizens should be the largest beneficiaries，” said Zhang.

Moreover， smart cities are large systems， and can only be built with systematic design and the participation of all the people involved， said Zhang， arguing that no single enterprise can really undertake the entire task of building a smart city.

In addition， a smart city should be based on intelligent infrastructure， which， to a large extent， means a network system of things in broad sense， said Chen Zongnian， President of electronic security technology company CETHIK Group. He said that data transmission， storage and processing make up a vital part of the system.

“Without such intelligent infrastructure， smart cities would be more in name than in reality，” said Chen.

Hi-tech resolutions

Internet Plus is a new engine for the construction of smart cities， said Wan， stressing that efforts should be made to tackle problems with new thoughts and methods featuring big data and cloud computing.

Compared with one or two decades ago， data is now ubiquitous. “Data is just like the blood of a city， helping people get an idea of the general operation of the city， find problems and work out solutions，” said Liu Tianwen， President of iSoftStone， a leading provider of innovative technological services in China.

As to how to push forward the construction of smart cities by using big data and cloud computing， Liu suggested that a single city “cloud” network should be created. Such a system would encompass various kinds of customers and cover government affairs， industries and peoples daily lives， so that things can be correlated and integrated.

Aside from that， data standards should also be unified. “At present， urban data is mostly dispersed throughout different government departments， such as land and resources， housing and transport. Unifying this data will contribute to city planning，” said Liu.

Since all smart services need data， and governments hold the most public data， measures should be taken to open up this information to the public. That could add to the competitiveness of a city and attract more investors and industries to settle down， Liu noted.

Last not but least， citizens should develop the habits necessary to build smart cities， Liu stressed. For example， when a wells lid is missing， nearby citizens should report it immediately to prevent accidents.

From data generation， transmission to application， there is another important link—data management， which has not yet been given enough attention， said Xie Yun， Vice President of Digital China Information Services Co. Ltd.

At the current stage， data management mainly revolves around different applications. Thats to say， personal data is locked in different applications and cant be exchanged amongst them. Take urban management for example. There are various applications specializing in transport， safety， environment and so on， and their data is collected separately.

“To solve the problem， a model should be put in place. When data are collected from the Internet of Things or even virtual networks， they will be put into the model. In this way， the combination of information can give a full description about the current condition of a city，” said Xie， stressing that people can find anything in a model with no isolated information “islands.”

While data can greatly prop up the construction of smart cities， some people have also shown concern over the security of their personal information.

“The security of personal data is not just a matter of management， but also relies on technology，” said CETHIK President Chen. On one hand， information managers should leave no stones unturned in preventing information leakages. On the other hand， endeavors should be made to promote encryption and ensure information safety in transmission and storage.

“If the information storage system is insecure， its just like depositing your valuables in someone elses safe，” said Chen.