A smart city is an urban development vision to integrate multiple information and communication technology (ICT) and Internet of Things IoT solutions in a secure fashion to manage a city’s assets – the city’s assets include, but are not limited to, local departments information systems, schools, libraries, transportation systems, hospitals, power plants, water supply networks, waste management, law enforcement, and other community services. The goal of building a smart city is to improve quality of life by using technology to improve the efficiency of services and meet residents’ needs. ICT allows city officials to interact directly with the community and the city infrastructure and to monitor what is happening in the city, how the city is evolving, and how to enable a better quality of life. Through the use of sensors integrated with real-time monitoring systems, data are collected from citizens and devices – then processed and analyzed. The information and knowledge gathered are keys to tackling inefficiency.
ICT is used to enhance quality, performance and interactivity of urban services, to reduce costs and resource consumption and to improve contact between citizens and government. Smart city applications are developed with the goal of improving the management of urban flows and allowing for real time responses to challenges. A smart city may therefore be more prepared to respond to challenges than one with a simple ‘transactional’ relationship with its citizens. Yet, the term itself remains unclear to its specifics and therefore, open to many interpretations and subject.
Other terms that have been used for similar concepts include cyberville, digital city, electronic communities, flexicity, information city, intelligent city, knowledge-based city, MESH city, telecity, teletopia, Ubiquitous city, wired city.
Sectors that have been developing smart city technology include government services, transport and traffic management, energy, health care, water, innovative urban agriculture and waste management.
Major technological, economic and environmental changes have generated interest in smart cities, including climate change, economic restructuring, the move to online retail and entertainment, ageing populations, urban population growth and pressures on public finances. The European Union (EU) has devoted constant efforts to devising a strategy for achieving ‘smart’ urban growth for its metropolitan city-regions. The EU has developed a range of programmes under ‘Europe’s Digital Agenda”. In 2010, it highlighted its focus on strengthening innovation and investment in ICT services for the purpose of improving public services and quality of life. Arup estimates that the global market for smart urban services will be $400 billion per annum by 2020. Examples of Smart City technologies and programs have been implemented in Milton Keynes, Southampton, Amsterdam, Barcelona and Stockholm.
The total area will be around 40,000 kanals. About four and a half Kilometers from new Toll Plaza of Islamabad on M-2 Motorway. It is planned to be the first schme in Pakistan to be officially designated as a ‘smart city’. It is designed by a Singaporean firm named Norman Foster Meinhardt Group. The project consultant is Future Developments (Pvt) Ltd and Engineering Dimension (Pvt) Ltd.
Residential plot files are on offer in 5 marla, 10 marla, 1-kanal and 2-kanal categories. Also, there are farmhouses of 5 kanals, 10 kanals and even 20 kanals.
There is an Education Zone of 139 acres and a community center of 56 acres plus a Disney Land of 125 acres which is developed by Disney itself. Another Entertainment Zone of 89 acres and Commercial Zone of 147 acres. The minimum tower height is 40 floors.
Then there is a Health Zone of 145.7 acres with three world standard hospitals and a medical university planned there.
Separate land for Masjids, Schools and Community Centers in the sectors. Main Boulevards will be of 300′ feet wide having 8 lanes.
Main Boulevard is 30 km long! It goes around the whole of the smart city. Minimum street size is 40 feet.
Access to Islamabad will be on M-2 motorway through the planned Thalian Interchange to be developed by FWO.