Advantages And Disadvantages Of A Smart City

Introduction

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “India is to be found not in its few cities, but in its 700,000 villages.” Though that may at one time have been true, it is no longer the case. With about 30% country dwellers moving lock, stock and barrel every minute from Indian villages to become city dwellers, not many villages will be left in India by end of this century.We 're well-acquainted with smartphones and smart cards, but what do we really know of smart cities - 100 of which the finance minister has promised at a cost of Rs7,060 crore? Is it one of ArunJaitley 's smart-aleck phrases to appease a set of aspiring urban geeks, or just another castle-in-the-air that budgets with shaky foundations are built on?

One of the major planks of the

“A Smart City is a well performing city built on the ‘smart’combination of endowments and activities of self-decisive,independent and aware citizens.”

Giffinger, et.al (2007: 11)

Another more recent definition of smart cities cuts across this and suggests cities are smart: “when investments in human and social capital and traditional (transport) and modern (ICT)communicationinfrastructure fuel sustainableeconomic growth and a high quality of life, with a wise management of natural resources, throughparticipatory governance”

Caragliu, et.al (2011: 70)

Smart cities in India will have to made eco friendly from the very beginning, to avoid the pollution that will surely follow and also have to include new transportation networks, such as smart buses, metro railway ystems, CCTV camera coverage of traffic, RFID chips for plate identification, as is in Delhi and other such ways to increase the efficiencies of the various inter connected and inter dependent systems that are necessary for the smooth and efficient functioning of any urban conurbation. Also required will the presence of a so called ‘green belt’ within the city along with civic amenities such as parks, playgrounds, along with sufficient space for public schools, and expansion of residential

Curitiba (Brazil): This well-run metropolis in southern Brazil is famous for its rapid bus-based transit, used by 70% of its residents, and its balanced, diverse economic development strategy. The city’s program of building “lighthouses”–essentially electronic libraries–for poorer residents has become a model for developing cities worldwide.Environmental site Grist recently ranked Curitiba the third “greenest” city in the world.

Monterrey (Mexico): Over the past few decades Monterrey has emerged from relative obscurity into a major industrial and engineering center. The city of 3.5 million has 57 industrial parks, specializing in everything from chemicals and cement to telecommunications and industrial machinery. Monterrey and its surrounding state, Nuevo Leon, boast a per-capita GDP roughly twice that of the rest of Mexico.

Amsterdam: An ancient city dating back to the times of Charlemagne, which has used land reclamation along with a eco-friendly road network with a specialized cycle-integrated system along with an efficient bus and metro train making it one of the best places to live in the world.

Smart Cities in