by Brianna Crandall — January 13, 2017 — A new white paper from Navigant Research examines the strategy and execution of 10 leading smart cities in the Gulf region of the Middle East, highlighting each city’s approaches, key projects, and overall readiness to develop their smart city visions, with an eye to influencing other cities around the world.
The countries of the Gulf region are playing an increasingly visible role in the global development of smart cities. Cities in this region have seized on the ideas behind the smart city as a means of improving quality of life, strengthening avenues for economic diversification, and supporting environmental and sustainability programs. According to the white paper, Dubai is the Gulf region’s leading smart city.
According to Eric Woods, research director with Navigant Research:
Dubai in the United Arab Emirates stands out for its strategic vision and its understanding of the practical requirements to deliver on that vision. The foundation laid by city leaders and the Smart Dubai Office provides an excellent basis to deliver a range of innovations that can have a significant impact on the city’s operations and quality of life. The Dubai Data initiative and the new Smart Dubai Platform also place it firmly among the global cities driving innovation in urban technology.
Many of the Gulf region’s smart city programs are in their early stages, and much of the focus is still on deploying information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and core services. Despite considerable progress, there is still much to do, providing cities the opportunity to be leaders in the development of more advanced solutions for city management through smart street lighting, intelligent traffic management, public safety, and smart buildings, according to the report.
The 10 cities covered in the Gulf States Smart Cities Index were assessed on the breadth and depth of their smart or future city strategy and specific programs in areas such as digital innovation, public safety, urban mobility, energy, and sustainability. The assessment also looks at support from national governments and the extent of their partnerships and collaboration with other agencies and the private sector.
The white paper evaluates the Gulf region smart city market, with a focus on two dimensions: Strategy and Execution. The Strategy dimension assesses each city’s vision, goals, and objectives as they relate to its smart city program.
The Execution dimension assesses the city’s actual achievements from initial projects to full-blown deployment of innovative technologies and services. Cities are profiled, rated, and ranked with the goal of providing an objective assessment of the relative strengths and weaknesses of their smart city programs.
Gulf States Smart Cities Index, which also highlights significant work being done in a number of other cities in the Gulf region and in neighboring countries, is available for free download on the Navigant Research Web site.
