by Shane Henson — September 16, 2011—According to Smart Cities Market Data, a new report by ABI Research, more city governments throughout the world are seeing the benefits of using “smart city” technology and will be investing a considerable amount of money during the coming years to make their cities smarter.
While $8.1 billion was spent on smart city technologies in 2010, by 2016 that number is projected to reach $39.5 billion, says the report. The report identifies more than 100 active or completed smart city projects. A smart city is determined by six dimensions: smart economy, environment, governance, lifestyle, transportation, and community. There are currently 102 smart city projects worldwide, with Europe leading the way at 38, North America at 35, Asia Pacific at 21, the Middle East and Africa at six, and Latin America with two.
Two examples of cities undertaking smart city projects are Holyoke, Massachusetts and Amsterdam. Cisco teamed with Holyoke in February 2011 and promised to change the former mill town into a smart and connected community within a year. Cisco’s plans for Holyoke include using technology to deliver urban services in order to generate new economic opportunity, improve education, and bolster population retention.
Amsterdam’s smart environment project, launched in 2009, is a collaboration between Utility Liander and Amsterdam Innovation Motor. The program aims to set up a unique partnership with the city’s residents, businesses, and government to save energy now and in the future. The program’s ultimate goal is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in Amsterdam, as well as eventually in all of Europe. While Amsterdam had previously committed to reducing its carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2025, compared to a baseline of 1990, the smart city project aims to achieve that goal ten years earlier by 2015.
