Global Smart Infrastructure - Smart Cities and Smart Communities - Trends and Insights

Synopsis

Archived report. Smart cities are going to be amazing community hubs that will be more sustainable, efficient, and supportive of citizens. The concept of smart communities is based on intelligent infrastructure such as broadband (FttH) and smart grids, so that connected and sustainable communities can be developed. However, they cannot be built within the silo structure that currently dominates our thinking; a holistic approach is needed – one that includes environmental issues such as self-sufficient energy buildings, exchanges for renewable energy and e-cars, delivery of e-health, e-education and e-government services, as well as digital media and internet services.

To date, the easiest path to incorporating these concepts into a smart community has been with the development of ‘Greenfield’ residential communities. These projects essentially start with no existing legacy utility infrastructure, and involve the construction of new dwellings capable of incorporating a range of new technologies. Greenfield development sites can be used as test beds and lead the way for other existing communities to follow suit.

How data and information is processed and utilised will be a key to the success of smart cities, which is why developments regarding Big Data management, M2M communication and Cloud Computing are of particular importance to smart city developments.

The home automation market has certainly caught the interest of some of the industry heavyweights with Qualcomm, Samsung and Apple all developing their own smart home automation solutions. Reportedly, Google acquired Nest in order to develop home automation offerings too.

This BuddeComm report discusses and provides examples of some of the key developments taking place around the world towards building smart cities and communities, including the key components and insights into smart/connected homes development. The report includes smart city examples and explores the imperative need for smart communities going forward. For information on Smart Transport, see separate report: BuddeComm Intelligence Report - Smart Transport, Smart Vehicles and Drones.

Latest developments:

The global smart city and smart home markets are expected to escalate in the coming years. In China, all three leading mobile operators have major smart city projects. Stockholm came first in Ericsson’s Networked Society City Index 2014. The United Arab Emirates are building an ambitious smart city from scratch – Masdar City in Abu Dhabi aims to be the world’s first zero carbon, zero waste city powered entirely by renewable energy sources.