In an increasingly urbanised world, a Smart City looks after its citizens by harnessing the latest data capture and communication management technologies to deliver high-value services derived via robust modelling techniques. Smart approaches to services such as transport, utilities and waste management have the potential to transform the efficiency and sustainability of urban communities, leading to significant reductions in both cost of service provision and carbon emissions, and to improve the quality of life for citizens.
However, this is a complex issue, and the scale of potential benefits is far greater if the City is viewed holistically. If individual services are developed in isolation from each other, there are significant risks that solutions created may be incompatible. There is also a need to ensure that City development reflects the aspirations of its citizens and that concerns about the appropriateness of sharing personal information between applications are addressed.
To address these risks and ensure the technology fulfils its potential, The British Standards Institution (BSI) has been commissioned by the UK Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) to formulate a Smart Cities Standards Strategy. This strategy will identify the needs and concerns of stakeholders and explore where standards might facilitate the wider uptake of the Smart Cities concept. In addition to the benefits to UK citizens of living in Smart Cities, we believe that there are significant business opportunities for UK business in establishing a lead in the design, implementation and management of Smart Cities.
The work so far has indicated that the complexity of a Smart City will require the introduction of guidelines, metrics and technical specifications to help support the collaboration between city authorities, private sector and citizens to achieve the Smart City vision.
Public consultation is now closed on our document “A Standards Strategy for Smart Cities”.
On the 29th and 31st of May, BSI organised two workshops in order to collect the input from participants on the recommendations included in the document “A Standards Strategy for Smart Cities”. Speakers from Consumer Focus, Cisco, Birmingham City Council, BRE and Telemetry Associates provided their point of view on Smart Cities and the need for standards, while participants were involved in lively discussions.
Speakers and presentations:
- Mike Perry, Principal Consultant BRE (PDF 2,623KB)
- Stephen Pattenden, Consultant, Telemetry Associates (PDF 4,431KB)
- Mike Perry, Principal Consultant BRE & Stephen Pattenden, Consultant, Telemetry Associates (PDF 3.1KB)
- Jacqueline Homan, Birmingham Science City Manager, Birmingham City Council (presentation)
- Dan Palmer, Head of Market Development – Manufacturing & Services, BSI (presentation)
- Sophie Neuburg, Policy Manager, Consumer Focus (PDF 1,173KB)
- Heike Schuster-James, Programme Manager, Birmingham City Council (PDF 2,592KB)
- Charbel Aoun, Director – Smart+Connected Communities, Cisco (PDF 12,918KB)