In order to have a successful and livable urban environment, people living in urban environments need protection from the risks which occur. These include natural disasters, crime, poverty, pollution, and unemployment.
However, with technological innovations like advanced infrastructure management systems (IMS), smart buildings, and many other innovations in the public sector; these adverse effects can be minimized or eliminated. People often ask questions like, “What is smart technology?” and “what is technology?”.
A smart city is a city that uses technical, social, and engineering solutions to optimize the use of its natural and economic resources. The goal is to make the city more sustainable, environmentally friendly, efficient, safe, and livable.
Smart tech cities are implementing new technology in areas such as public transportation, waste management, public safety, utilities, and street lighting.
The idea of a smart city has been here for quite some time now. But technological advances are revolutionizing what it means to be a modern city. The increased use of smart tech products like sensors, mobile technologies, data analysis, and artificial intelligence will result in smart cities with an improved quality of life for residents.
However, currently, most of us do not live in such cities. We usually use hotels to live while traveling to other cities. While staying at hotels, we often connect to the hotel’s Wi-Fi. Here, another question arises, “is hotel Wi-Fi safe?”. The answer is “No”.
In this article, we’ll discuss some smart cities and technologies. We’ll also discuss how to get safe Wi-Fi while traveling or visiting a hotel. So, if you have any of the following questions:
- What are the smart city technologies?
- What are the new smart cities?
- What is an example of smart technology?
Then, stay tuned!
Top 5 Smart Cities:
Singapore:
Singapore is one of the most progressive and innovative countries in the world. Singapore has become a smart city through its initiatives. Singapore’s National Research Foundation started the Smart Nation Initiative to help bring awareness of the digital world to all citizens.
With a thriving economy and population growth, it has been keeping up with the fast pace by implementing technology to help keep up with its residents’ demands. The government has been partnering with companies to provide many different types of technical assistance from top universities to startups.
One of the examples of smart technology brought by the Smart Nation Initiative is contactless payment technology. With this technology, about 7.5M people can get the benefit of efficiently paying for transport services, health, etc.
Helsinki:
Helsinki is a city with many smart features. There are several things on which Helsinki is working. The first one is their goal of going carbon-neutral by 2035. The other one is to reduce traffic emissions by 69% by using electric car charging networks and the Metro.
The city is also focusing on implementing energy-efficient measures, which will reduce building emissions by 80%.
Zurich:
Zurich is a European city that has earned the status of being one of the smartest cities in the world. From its transportation system to its innovative research on renewable energies, Zurich exemplifies how Europe is home to some of the most innovative cities in the world today.
The most reputed Zurich project is the streetlight project. The streetlight uses sensors that automatically dim or brighten up according to the traffic situations and enable it to save up to 70% of energy.
Another highly effective project is the building management system, which connects cooling, heating, and electricity.
Zurich is also developing rapidly in terms of opening new businesses. For example, right now you can easily open points of sale for a variety of equipment, from elf bars to large computer systems
New York:
The smart city of New York is a bustling metropolis with many of the best features of cities around the world. In 2020, there were hundreds of sensors that had already been tested and implemented in different places and districts of New York under the smart city pilot program.
There are different types of services implemented under this program, like waste management. There are also smart hubs installed in the city with Wi-Fi capabilities, and contactless technology. Some other notable smart implementations include online charging stations and car-sharing services.
As we just talked about smart hubs with Wi-Fi capabilities, it is crucial to know how to be safe by using VPN on public Wi-Fi.
A VPN encrypts all data transmitted to and from your device, making it impossible for someone else to intercept that data even if they are connected to the same network.
It is important to always have a VPN active when using public Wi-Fi. It is critical because if you do not have one, you are risking your data being exposed to others. With a VPN active, all of your data will be encrypted so that no one can see what you are doing.
This also protects you from bad actors such as hackers and other people who might want to steal your data for nefarious purposes.
Oslo:
Oslo has a population of over 600,000 and is ranked as the most powerful city in Norway. The capital is working on electric vehicles, and it has been planned that by 2025, there will be electric cars in the entire city. Oslo also has the aim of becoming carbon-neutral by 2050 and planning several different projects in the future.
In conclusion, the new era of technology for smart cities is beneficial in many ways. It drives economic productivity, energy savings, and, most importantly, it provides a safer environment. The future of technology in the world is limitless, and it will only continue to grow more advanced with every passing year.