How Do You Measure The Smartness Of A City

Everyone in the world is talking about smart cities. It is the next big thing that will change the concept of living. But what really is a smart city? There is no universally accepted definition of a smart city.

With the mission to develop 100 smart cities, the Indian government has undertaken an initiative for urban renewal and retrofitting. The smart cities mission purely depicts the goal of the government to deliver citizen friendly and sustainable cities.

What are the parameters used to measure the smartness of a city? The entire concept of smart cities is highly context-specific. To judge whether a city is smart or not, e need very complex systems that are non-linear and based on dynamic linkages.

The smart cities concept is itself is a very new thing. So there has been no accepted guide developed for the Indian context to measure smartness of its cities. This is quite difficult. It is hard to build an evaluating model.

However, it is important to measure, manage and monitor the performance of a city. Certain factors are essential to improving a city's condition. The results will help the central and state governments and urban local bodies to replicate the solution across India.

Establishing a benchmark tool is the first most thing to do. It is vital to evaluate the smartness of Indian smart city models. This would not only help to estimate their performance but also make available a platform to share the best practices. The tool will also help in comparing the position of one city against another.

Measure

Measuring the smartness of a city is an intricate process that requires the need to substitute partnerships between government, private sector and NGOs to fast-track the process of development of Indian smart cities.

It is essential to understand the current performance of the cities, and on what criteria the selection process has been done. Then, identify the key elements indicative of the smartness of a city.

Cities should be classified based on the size of population. A well-planned system would help us measure the development that takes place in both the strategy phase and in the implementation phase.

The measurement of smartness of a city should be both qualitative and quantitative in nature. It should include the nature of living, governance, energy and environment, mobility and transportation, economy, building infrastructure and services.

Manage

The next step should be on how to manage the measuring tool to evaluate the smartness of a city.

Data collection under the elements and comparison across different cities would be a challenge. The reliability of collected data can be quite tricky as well. A well-structured team is required to manage collected data, and to certify the authenticity of data.

Once an assessment and the calculation is completed, data can be shared in the public domain. Subsequently, insights and visions about a system can be given. It should also ensure an improved delivery of services and technologies.

Monitor

To monitor assessment of executed measures for various cities is very important. This will provide an objective measure of the strengths and weaknesses of smart city models. This will also enable an informed deployment of technologies. An immaculate assessment will not only help a city to prioritise, but also channelize its actions for the city's development. 

Each city could review a complete positioning as well as have separate ranking under each individual element against other cities. This will help to identify “smarter than smart” and the best practices of “the smartest” amongst all.

The entire process will bring in more transparency. Successful planning and execution of smart city transformation strategies can bring out which city is preparing itself to become a smart city. The final goal should be to compete with global smart cities.