What is a Smart City?

A smart city is one that uses modern technology in conjunction with infrastructure to improve different aspects of the city, these aspects include transportation, streets, buildings, environment, public health, and government. This technology can be a variety of different things, but the purpose of all the technologies is to better improve the area in which it is implemented. I believe this to be a proper definition because the purpose of new technologies is to improve current systems in place, and if these technologies are successful, it makes the system “smarter”. All new technologies in every different aspect of a city work together to make the city a smarter city.

What is Smart Government and Community?

My smart city topic is Smart Government and Community. This topic includes using technology to improve government and the community. This can include technologies to help with community involvement and make people feel included in the decisions that the local governments are making. This can make for a more transparent government and will improve the trust between the government and the citizens in the community. Having this transparency will make for a stronger community and will also improve quality of the community because people will feel that their decisions matter. Increasing the transparency between the government and the citizen is important because without it the citizens will not have any trust in their local government.

Smart City Projects

1. Boston, Massachusetts  – Digital Trust for Places and Routines

The Project

A startup in Boston has Launched the Digital Trust for Places and Routines (DTPR) project, this project has the goal of increases transparency between the technologies implemented and the data that this technology is collecting. This project aims to allow people to find information directly related to technology being used in the community and allows them to find out exactly what data is being collected and lets them provide feedback and voice their opinion on the product. This is done through QR codes that are posted near the technologies that people have questions about, when a QR code is scanned it brings up information about the technology and what information the technology is looking for. The QR codes are generated for multiple kinds of technology, whether this be cameras or different kinds of sensors, all with goal of increasing transparency about what kind of data the different technology around you is collecting

My Thoughts

I think that this project is a great idea to help improve the trust between citizens and the technology that is implemented in the city. Privacy is a big concern when it comes to citizens and when new technology is implemented, the citizens have the right to know what data it is collecting. This project is a simple yet smart idea to bridge this gap and better communicate to citizens exactly what is being put in their city. I like the idea that if you are worried about a certain piece of technology in your area, you can scan a QR code and learn everything there is to know about the technology. The citizens being able to provide feedback and share their personal opinions is a vital part of this project and I like that you are bale to do that with this project. I think that being told what the technology is, what data it is collecting, and having a space to share your concerns is a brilliant way to increase the trust of the decisions made by the city.

Criticism

The only criticisms I have about this project is that people have to scan the QR code to learn about the technology. As seen in the picture, hexagons are used as the design for this project, one of them having the QR code and a URL that will take you to the description of the technology and its purpose. If someone wants to scan and learn even more or scan to provide feedback that is fine, but people must scan the QR code or go to the website to learn about the technology.

Improvements

I think that having one of the hexagons being a brief explanation of the technology will speed up the communication and will make it more efficient for someone to learn about the technology. The QR code will still be available to those who want to learn more or voice their opinion. This will also allow people who may not a have a phone or access to the internet to learn about the technologies that are being questioned.

2. Guymon, Oklahoma – Customer Relationship Management System

 

The Project

Customer satisfaction is one of the most important things when it comes to businesses, and a city in Oklahoma looks to make sure that customers are satisfied using a new service. The new system in Guymon, Oklahoma sets up a call center that customers can call at anytime and get help with many problems they may have with local services. This is to help with customer satisfaction and make sure that they can get the best experience anytime of the day. Customers not being satisfied can cause disruption in local businesses and will make them lose trust in them. This can be harmful to the entire city because businesses are not able to keep customer satisfaction up. The Customer Relationship Management System (CRMS) looks to fix this issue by connecting local businesses directly to the customers themselves. This will allow people to express their problems and get feedback immediately. This aims to increase communication and help build the relationship between governmental business and its citizens.

My Thoughts

I like the idea of being able to contact someone and let my opinion be heard. It never feels like you are able to voice your opinion and when you do it doesn’t seem to be heard. With this system I would hope I am able to voice my opinion and be reaffirmed that it is heard and would be able to see a change. This would make trust in the government and the businesses it has increase and citizens would be more satisfied with the services given. It is important that customers feel satisfied because then the services can feel validated in the work they are doing.

Criticism

A problem I have with this system is that it will take multiple workers with certain knowledge to implement this system. This could be a roadblock because you have to find people with the knowledge and availability to hire on to this system. It would make the number of people needed for the system increase and therefore increase the cost of the system and increase the requirements for it.

Improvements

An improvement that could be made would be to make chat bots that could help customers with their problems. This could reduce the number of people needed for the system and would filter out simpler problems that may have simple solutions. This would make it to where if someone is having a more serious issue, they are connected to someone that may be able to help.

3. Brisbane, Australia – Civic Ledger

 

The Project

A startup in Australia is using new blockchain technology to directly link transactions between the government and the citizen. This technology aims to allow the citizen to perform transactional based actions with the government through technology. This is to speed up transactions between the government and the citizen, by removing the middle man. Citizens will be able to perform certain transaction-based actions themselves and will greatly speed up the process by making these governmental actions self-serving now. Citizens being able to perform certain actions themselves will improve the overall relationship between the government and the citizen. The government not being able to interfere with some actions will also increase the trust dynamic. This is all to make governmental transactions more efficient and accessible. The days of waiting in line at the DMV could be gone.

My Thoughts

I think this idea is great, but I see the potential problems that may come with a self-serve system. With blockchain technology being relatively newer, the security of this system would be my biggest question. Is my data being seen by other users? How do I know that I am the only one seeing these transactions? These are just a couple questions that I can think of about the validity of this system. Blockchain being tied heavily to crypto could also be a problem because crypto is a constantly changing and is almost impossible to predict. These are just some of the concerns I had about this system. I do think that this could be a great system and that the potential for a government less transition intrigues me, but this is if the technology is secure enough for this to happen.

Improvements

For this system to be implemented, I would have to see big improvements to the blockchain technology. This is to increase the trust that the user would have with the system, especially since it would be handling potential personal information. The technology is very fascinating, and I think has great potential, but I think it has a long time before it is implemented in most places because I do not think that most people would trust their sensitive information going through a technological system that is so unpredictable.

Works Cited

1. Descant, S. (2022, July 8). Boston joins project to grow transparency around urban tech. GovTech. Retrieved February 17, 2023, from https://www.govtech.com/smart-cities/boston-joins-project-to-grow-transparency-around-urban-tech
2. Digital technology is increasingly present in the places and spaces in which we live. how might people learn about and give feedback on its use? Digital Trust for Places & Routines. (n.d.). Retrieved February 17, 2023, from https://dtpr.io/
3. 3 ways cities can improve digital trust in Public Spaces. World Economic Forum. (n.d.). Retrieved February 17, 2023, from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/06/smart-cities-public-spaces-data/
4. Customer experience consultancy & development. WayPath. (2022, October 26). Retrieved February 17, 2023, from https://waypathconsulting.com/
5. StartUs Insights. (2019, September 30). 5 top smart government solutions impacting smart cities. StartUs Insights. Retrieved February 17, 2023, from https://www.startus-insights.com/innovators-guide/5-top-smart-government-solutions-impacting-smart-cities/
6. Civic Ledger – Crunchbase Company Profile & Funding. Crunchbase. (n.d.). Retrieved February 17, 2023, from https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/civic-ledger
7. (2023, February 9). Why CRM is key to unlocking business growth potential. Why CRM Is Key To Unlocking Business Growth Potential. Retrieved February 17, 2023, from https://www.superoffice.com/blog/what-is-crm/