Singapore best
performing 'smart city' globally: Study
SINGAPORE: Singapore was ranked the top performer in a global
smart city ranking by Juniper Research.
The Global Smart City Performance Index 2017 released on Monday
(Mar 12) modelled scenarios across four areas - mobility, health,
safety and productivity - to examine the benefits of smart city
initiatives for residents in 20 cities. Specifically, it aimed to
measure how technology saved time for people and improved their
quality of life.
Singapore topped the index in all four areas, ahead of other major
cities like San Francisco, Seoul, London and New York in the study
sponsored by tech firm Intel. It was conducted from July to
September last year.
The report noted that in the area of mobility, Singapore has
applied "smart, connected traffic solutions" together with a very
strong policy curtailing car ownership in an effort to reduce the
number of vehicles on its roads.
It also highlighted Singapore's focus on addressing healthcare
service provision for elderly citizens through a range of
technologies, including digital service platforms as well as remote
monitoring devices. In the area of safety, the report noted that
Singapore has started trials using smart video surveillance to
detect criminal activity.
In addition, Singapore is a leader in allowing citizens to access
digital services and city information with its "large open data
stores" and "strategies to encourage private innovation" through
specialised test-bed environments, the report stated.
“Analysts tend to focus on the technical underpinnings of building
a data-centric world,” said Mr Windsor Holden, head of forecasting
and consultancy at Juniper Research. “We can’t overlook the
importance of the real human benefits that smart cities have.
Connected communities, municipal services and processes have a
powerful impact on a citizen’s quality of life.”
According to Intel, “smart cities" employ Internet of Things
technologies such as connected sensors, meters and lights to
collect and analyse data to improve public infrastructure and
services.
The study noted that Singapore's "Smart Nation" initiative and its
position as a city-state makes the country unique in its ability to
execute its smart city vision.
"Singapore was lauded for its rapid transformation since
independence into the world’s leading smart city and was held up as
an example which other cities can learn from," Intel said in a
media release on Tuesday.
Source: CNA/mz