What is the Smart City?

Smart City can be defined in various ways. However, I think the most accurate definition to the Smart City is the city that has high technology or system to allow the people to have efficient and convenient environment. In other word, smart city is the city that is formed with the collection of the modern technology, collected database. With the modern technology and the database that is collected from the previous experiences, they allow people to live in the city with the environment that includes safer community, development of transportation, improved in health care. However, smart city has pros and cons. One of the cons is that since the smart city delivers the higher quality of life to the people, it drags people into the city, which brings harder circumstance to control.

Smart Street and Smart Transportation Mode

Smart Street

Smart street is the system that uses information from the database to share information with the people to increase the efficiency of transportation. Smart street uses variety information from the database to deliver to the information to the people. The information that is collected in the database can be divided into two parts, complete street and sensor. With complete street, people can get the information such as bike path, pedestrian path, and multi-used streets. With this information people can find out the location and the route for their destinations. With the sensor, real-time information such as traffic flow, location of the public transportation, and the duration of time for reaching to the destination can be collected. This data collection brings the huge impacts to the people in various ways. For example, Navigation also shows the how much time consume to get to the destination based on the information of real-time traffic flow. With this information, users can be prepared for their plans. Also, providing the current location of the public transportation gives people more beneficial ways of using transportation.

Smart Transportation Mode

Smart Transportation Mode is the term that includes the transportation that can bring more beneficial way of getting to the destination. In other words, it is the mode that uses different transportation other than the cars. Using trains, bikes, buses, and even walk, all of these other transportations are included in Smart Transportation Mode. These transportation might save time or environmentally friendly.

Smart Street and Smart Transportation Mode Project

City of South Bend

Objective

Smart street that is created by the City of South Bend is to provide the environment to the people to experience safer and more efficient transportation by creating the two-way traffic patterns. By crating the two-way traffic pattern, it will cause the better and easier traffic for motorist, bike users, and even for pedestrians.

Project

Smart street in South Bend is to create the more efficient transportation compare to the past. Smart street project is not only managing the conditions or the paths of the roads, but it also creates the new roads, trees, side walk, and any other circumstances that enhances the quality of life for using the transportation and improves the economic development. The one of the main content that South Bend is pushing forward is converting one-street to two-street. The reason for this decision has decided by the research. There are many other states that already converted the one-way street to two-way street, and this changes brought differences on traffic flow, reduces in crime, and even also improves in economic systems. South Bend project is currently the on-going project, and it already has converted one-way street to two-way street in few cities.

Review

The works in smart street project in South Bend has not completed, and most of the projects do not fulfill their purpose of pushing the project, however, The project that the South Bend has great potential of making differences by building its project. Converting one-way street to two-way street, this type of project has already completed in many other cities, states, and even in other countries. For example, Most of the streets in Korea has converted to the one-way street to two-way street. This change brings the huge impact on traffic flow and also enhances the quality of life for using the streets, which brings the less complains from the people. Since there are many other examples that has already completed the project that the South Bend is trying to build, there are many resources that they can research about. Also, since there are many places that the project is completed, they can get feedback from the places that has already processed the project. Within this reason, the project has great potential for enhancing the quality of life.

Mass Ave. and Beacon St. Project

Objective

The Mass Ave. and Beacon St. Project has a goal to make better understanding how people act on roads by using technology and data. In other words, Mass Ave. and Beacon St. Project is using the technology to re-design the streets and using sensors and the other technology to find out how people interact and react on the cities. These information helps the city to improves in many criteria, such as safety and traffic.

Project

The Mass Avenue and Beacon Street Project is currently using Verizon for the network of collecting the data from the Mass Avenue and Beacon Street intersection. By using the Verizon, they can collect the data of how people interact from the variety of conditions. With the data that they collect from their technology, they are looking forward to make changes in better streets, sidewalks, or signage, changes to how we enforce traffic rules, and changes in depth public education. The reason for collecting data from the Massachusetts Avenue and Beacon Street intersection is that it is the intersection that has been invested on the safety concern, and it is part of the Vision Zero Program, which is the program that concerns with the car crashes and any other incidents relates to the life. However, to collect the data from the intersection, they need variety technologies such as camera, sensor, LED light, and web-based platforms that organize the collected data and allows easier data transfer. By using this technology, they are not just simply collect the any data on the road, they have the sections that explains what they want to collect the data about. This data that they want to collect is mainly for enhancing the quality of life and bring efficient and convenient ways of using streets.

Review

Since people need to get used to the new improvement and other changes on their lives, the project might not make the immediate changes on quality of life or on economic systems, however, it can potentially bring the huge impact to the society. Collecting the data by using technology like camera, sensors, and other technologies collect the real-time data, and it shows the current problem or complain that are happening on the streets. However, collecting this amount of huge data for this project might cause the huge amount of money to make this project to be succeed. They need to access to many other sources, and they also need to access on internet for every single time. For the internet access, they are using Verizon, but for other circumstances, they need to use other sources to complete this project.

DC Smart Street Lighting Project

Objective

The DC Smart Street Lighting Project is making changes on reducing the usage of light usage and eliminating the green house gas, and expanding the Wi-Fi coverage to the city. These can be done by creating massive number of streets in the city and cover them with the LED lights with remote monitoring and control capabilities. This does not mean that changing the light pole that is already installed. Keeping the light pole but changing the light to LED is the main concern that they are having, and this change has huge impact on the environment because it reduces the light pollution.

Project

The DC Smart Street Lighting Project is located in Washington DC in United States. They have created the partnership with various company to make this project to be succeed. They have re-designed the previous design, but they did not want to replace the light poles that were already installed. Beside the design, they have solved the different types of problem by making partnership with other companies. Also, since the cost of building this project was 309 million dollars, they have collected the finance money from different sources. The DC Smart Street Lighting Project has huge impact to the society because it does not only reduce the pollution, but it creates the improvement in various ways. As mentioned in objective section, beside the pollution, it creates better light system, which bring the brighter and cost-effective condition, and it creates the wider usage of Wi-Fi coverage. These changes can bring the not only pollution but it makes improvements on safety and efficient way of using streets for the pedestrians, bike rider, motorist, and cyclist.

Review

Unlike the other projects, this project can show the faster impact to the people who live in the city. Cost effective and brighter light can help people to navigate and make safer travel. Also the project is not only concerning with the safety, but it also brings more connection between the communities and the city to be more flexible. To make this project to be succeed, they have been made the partnership with many other companies, and they have succeed on gathering the money to make their project to be succeed. Brighter city does not need people to get used to and it does not only target individually, it has great potential of creating higher quality of life and making better environment to the people.

Citation

Smarter streets ahead. Smarter Streets Ahead. (n.d.). Retrieved February 18, 2023, from https://smartstreets.southbendin.gov/

DC Smart Street Lighting Project: Washington, D.C., United States: Plenary Group. Washington, D.C., United States | Plenary Group. (n.d.). Retrieved February 18, 2023, from https://plenary.com/americas/project/dc-smart-street-lighting-project