What is a smart city? Specifically what is a Smart SustainableTown? In October 2015, ITU-T Study Group 5 agreed on the following definition of a Smart Sustainable City:
“A smart sustainable city is an innovative city that uses information and communication technologies (ICTs) and other means to improve quality of life, efficiency of urban operation and services, and competitiveness, while ensuring that it meets the needs of present and future generations with respect to economic, social, environmental as well as cultural aspects”.
The main driving force behind an SST it seems is ICT. To be able to monitor and coordinate all these systems a well versed and redundant ICT system should be in place. However ICT can only serve as a backbone to an already existing infrastructure that is built using the following technology.
1. Battery and electric cars: to be able to combat air pollution as well as noise pollution (albeit the car hooters), SST needs electric and battery powered cars. Tesla® is already leading the market with innovation around electric cars and is harnessing freely available energy source - the sun. Take it back home: Botswana enjoys 10 hours of daily sunshine on average per year. The position of Botswana across the Tropic of Capricorn make her susceptible to very long summer days and a short winter period. Though the country relies on coal for major electric production, some areas use solar panels for water heating. The vast Kalahari desert can provide a minute area where a solar farm can be erected to push the photovoltaic power around major and even minor areas of the country. Add electric-assisted bicycles to the equation and voila you have sustainable energy transport
2. Solar roofed tiles: in order to harness the solar energy, houses need solar tiles in order to absorb the solar energy. Add Tesla Powerwall® to the equation and you have energy backup to power the electrical devices around the home. With modern design innovations and capabilities, you are on your way to savings on energy costs whilst keeping your house aesthetically pleasing.
3. Parks, Orchards and backyard gardens: a thriving ecosystem needs a thriving bio-diverse environment needs to be in place to balance out the ecological life-system. Parks with trees, lakes, man-made ponds and waterfalls will attract living animals and and provide scenery for the inhabitants. Thus the natural life-cycle is not disturbed but rather encouraged and nurtured to thrive with all the biological species.
4. Govt shared services: solar powered porta-cabins with mini water reticulation systems, fitted computer systems that are part of the SST ICT backbone can be installed to provide one stop shopfronts for various govt services including but not limited to :
4.1 Identification/Omang, Birth certificate, Death certificates, issuance of driving licences, passports as well duplication services, transport licensing renewals for driver licences and vehicles.
4.2 Youth innovation hubs and cells: administering business idea and formulation, financial assistance for seed funding, mentoring existing start ups, creating centralized information knowledge bases similar to the BTC Sesigo project. There is a lot of talent that needs nurturing from the e youth ranging from fine arts, poetry, coding and developing skills, handicraft to farming
4.3 administration of old age pensioning: through ICT services, the govt can maintain database of citizens and thus monitor them and be able to note who defaults into old age. Through mobility services, old age pensioners are not obliged to leave their homes to collect pension but its delivered to them
5. Connectivity: this is not limited to ICT internet connectivity but ability to communicate through the media platforms set out through the city. Optimized television broadcast and interactive content delivered through streaming media with constant weather updates and traffic situation ensures inhabitants have information at their fingertips. One of my former colleagues suggested a brilliant idea of erecting interactive billboards that use Near Field Communication that displays locale info: eateries, parks, museums, schools. transport hubs when you place device on it
All these are not dreams. Industries thrive where there is sustainability. Sustainability ensures feedback loop and thus an environment for growth and further innovation.
The next article on the series will discuss permaculture as a way of sustainable farming and hence food security.
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