by Brianna Crandall — April 3, 2015—U.K.-based business standards company BSI recently published a guidance document supporting the U.K. government’s smart cities standardization strategy. PD 8100, Smart cities overview — Guide, was sponsored by the U.K.’s Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) and is the latest in the suite of Smart Cities standards.
As cities grow larger so does the need to develop smart city infrastructures, explains BSI. By enabling existing data and resources in a city to be shared effectively, a longer term vision of city planning and development can be taken. This will allow information to be generated in the city to be directed and utilized to support both the day-to-day management of the city and long-term plans.
At the forefront of this work are the city leaders and those in a strategic position within a city, for whom PD 8100 was developed. It provides a clear and easy to use guide to everyone whose decisions have an impact on how a city functions and develops, enabling them to identify the standards they need for their work towards creating a smart city. The guide provides a benchmark towards formal standardization work.
PD 8100 provides a balanced picture of the potential benefits of smart city strategies, with recommendations on taking the first steps towards making a city or town smarter, in ways that fit local conditions. It also covers the role of technology, data and standards as tools, based on good practice from successful smart city initiatives.
PD 8100 was developed with collaborative input from experts such as Balfour Beatty Living Places, Birmingham City Council, Bristol City Council, Glasgow City Council, IBM, Imperial College London, Innovate UK, Royal Borough of Greenwich, Siemens, Space Syntax and Urban DNA.
Further work in this area sees BSI and the Future Cities Catapult working together to create the City Standards Institute (CSI). The CSI will drive the development of a coherent standardization work program to create the right conditions and help develop the future cities market, says BSI.
PD 8100, Smart cities overview — Guide, is available from the BSI Web site for free download. Making cities smarter—Guide for city leaders: Summary of PK 8100 is also available from the site.
