The debate around social sustainability of urban communities is speaking up. Cities are challenged to guarantee inclusion and equitable access to essential resources and services, and adjust urban design to improve safety and security.
“Covering Needs to Make a City Home” was one of appreciated talks of Smart City Expo World Congress 2024, the global Smart City event that took place last week in Barcelona (Spain). When a city can be called home? And how cities can evolve into places that people love and care?
According to Valentina Taddeo, marketing and communication leader at Paradox Engineering, a city becomes home when it succeeds in making each resident feels a sense of familiarity, security and belonging – exactly the three elements that we usually perceive in our dwellings.
At home the sense of familiarity derives from knowing where to find things, where the rooms are, how to move around even without switching on the lights, recognising objects, smells and atmosphere. When it comes to cities, it can derive from the data accumulated, processed and shared about services, facilities, and infrastructure. “Smart cities are harnessing the power of IoT applications by adding a layer of digital intelligence over a cityscape, deriving real-time data that should help local governments building a more transparent and data-driven governance,” said Valentina Taddeo. “Information sharing should be a priority in the government’s agenda: residents should know when a bus is coming, where public toilets or spaces dedicated to social gatherings are. Data can contribute to building more inclusive, thus more familiar urban areas.”
When talking about security, at home it is mostly about locking the doors, closing the windows, installing cameras. IoT technologies can contribute to increasing the sense of security in cities. Take for instance intelligent street lighting: a well-lit road might prevent crimes from happening; a well-lit car park, with sensors and AI monitoring systems could disincentivize crimes. Women walking alone at night should not have the feeling of being in danger or decide not to walk home because the streets are not safe. Having the opportunity to map their journey or find an emergency push button at street light poles could also be beneficial.
Finally, the sense of belonging comes from the personalisation of our homes, making them reflect our taste, habits, and needs. As much as we pride ourselves on our homes, we should be proud of our cities and become an active part of urban planning and design. “Local governments should sit at the table together with residents and plan not just for current but also future needs. The design phase plays an important role to make cities safer, but also to continually keep them tidy and attractive,” added Taddeo. “Again, IoT can come handy. Through predictive analysis, for instance, smart waste can predict bins’ filling levels and optimize collection, contributing to cleaner, healthier and more sustainable cities, cities we can all take pride on”.
Cities can be the extended version of our homes as long as people acknowledge a sense of familiarity, security and belonging. IoT represents the enabling technology upon which local governments, together with the direct involvement of residents, should rely on to build and shape our cities. “The better conditions we create in our communities, the greater effects we have on the quality of life, so that our cities become more liveable, safer and homier,” commented Valentina Taddeo.