Using GIS Technology To Build Smart Cities – Solutions That Make Systems Work
"Let EI Technologies help you build a Smarter City"
A version of this article was published in eGov Magazine on January 29, 2016
This article was also published in Bureaucracy Today magazine February, 2016 issue.
Smart City means different things to different people. To us, a Smart City is a transparent organization that thrives to provide superior services to its Citizens. When a governmental organization is committed to transparency, efficiency becomes a way of life. A Smart City is where officials are making better decisions faster.
So how do we go about building such an organization? For the past 30 years, organizations in Western Countries have been implementing Geographical Information System (GIS) to plan, implement, and operate smarter organizations. Technological advances of the past decade have drastically improved the ability of these organizations to improve Citizen services. Our challenge is to take the best in class technology and processes and apply those towards the 100 Smart Cities goal of the Central Government. Let’s start exploring.
Plan:
- Review open / green space requirements and how they fit with residential and commercial development
- Density planning to create live / work / play spaces reducing need for transportation
- Buffering between different zoning ordinances
With latest technology in 3D modelling, City planners are now able to view their vision with a click of a button and how changes in land use, zoning, height restrictions will look once completed. This allows the planners to view impact of high rise buildings on a neighboring property for example from sun light and shadows to wind drafts. This is very powerful tool as it allows officials to view impact of regulations before regulations are put in affect.
There is more to planning than zoning and land use. A Smart City also needs to plan for Smart Utilities and Smart Transportation. Providing on demand utility is central to any Smart City. Utility planning is about making sure needs of residential, commercial and industrial customers are met. GIS technology helps with planning for utility transmission and distribution capacity. Environmental factors should also be taken into consideration when planning for utilities. For example, Storm Water drain design needs to account for peak rain to avoid flash flooding. GIS technology will help with analysis of historical data along with soil type to account for saturation to calculate run off. GIS technology also helps calculate paved areas to determine runoff from the developed area.
Transportation planning as part of land use and zoning planning helps alleviate traffic congestions. Planning for locations of Police Stations, Fire Stations and other critical infrastructure is optimized by use of GIS technology.
In short, GIS technology can bring all the factors under one umbrella in creating a comprehensive actionable plan.
Implement:
Once officials have a comprehensive plan, they need to start implementing their plan. GIS technology helps with implementation of a Smart City plan. Construction of key infrastructure is managed better by integration of project management and finance tools with GIS. Setting up police and fire incident management systems that are integrates with GIS Technology with help better respond when incident occurs.
Operate:
GIS technology helps government officials efficiently operate their Smart City. GIS technology touches every aspect of operation of a Smart City. Some of the examples include:
Crime: GIS Technology allows analysis of crime including incident analysis, journey to crime, crime profile and hot spot analysis. Once an area is considered hotspot, GIS technology also allows us to review patrol effectiveness by reviewing results of increased patrol in a hotspot zone.
Fire: GIS Technology is used as a fire fighting tool. It allows to plan for fires for key buildings by analyzing building plans and preparing evaluation routes. It allows one to send the right firefighting equipment based on size and height of the building. Once fire fighters are at location, it allows them to know water pressure of a fire hydrant ahead of time saving precious minutes.
Tax Assessment: GIS Technology provides transparent tax assessment process. It allows for comparable analysis based on a variety of criteria and more importantly by putting this technology in the hands of the Citizens, it reduces assessment challenges.
Planning / Zoning: GIS Technology allows for better management of resources by providing efficient zoning regulations. It also allows for objective analysis eliminating any guess work or favoritism.
Storm Water: GIS Technology allows for better Storm Water management. It allows to plan for size and location of storm water system as well as calculation of effect on Storm Water by each parcel allowing officials to tax based on use as opposed to one size fits all approach.
Water / Wastewater Utilities: GIS Technology is instrumental in management of water and wastewater utilities. It helps with transmission, distribution, collection, treatment plant, conservation, use tracking and other aspects of utilities management. Effective meter replacement program use GIS technology and replacement of leaking sewer pipes program requires use of GIS technology to identify the appropriate assets. Asset management is a key GIS functionality allowing for efficient management.
Electric / Gas Utilities: GIS Technology helps operate electric and natural gas utilities efficiently. It allows us to plan for pick demand and analyze smart meters and smart grids so electricity can actually become a two-way street between the provider and the consumer.
Disaster Preparedness: GIS Technology is used in planning for disaster as well as in responding to disasters. It allows for volunteer outreach, closest facilities, capacity planning, critical infrastructure planning, and other important functionalities during a disaster.
Public Works: Whether it is refuge collection or roads maintenance; GIS Technology is indispensable in management of a Public Works department. Managing a fleet of thousands of vehicles or maintaining a road network of hundreds of thousands of kilometers, GIS Technology is at the heart of asset management for Public Works.
Elections: Free and fair elections are the backbone of a strong democracy. By managing elections using GIS Technology, we eliminate any possibility of election rigging. GIS Technology allows us to provide accurate polling locations to citizens and unbiased redistricting opportunity.
Parks & Recreations: One of the benefits of a Smart City are well planned parks and recreation system. By managing recreational assets using GIS Technology, we can place right assets at right locations. For example, by placing young children assets in a park near young families and senior centers near elder population allows us to better serve our citizens.
As one can see GIS is a core technology in operation of a Smart City. It integrates with other technologies such as Police and Fire Records Management, Emergency Operations Center, Asset Management, Elections and other to provide a holistic picture of the entire organization.
Engage: A Smart City is one which constantly engages with its citizenry. GIS Technology allows officials to provide apps and websites where citizens can report crimes, potholes on streets, issues with water quality, garbage pickup issues and other. GIS will help manage these Citizen feedbacks and allow organizations to fix the problems while keeping the citizens in the loop throughout the complaint lifecycle. Such transparency will make organizations more accountable helping them better serve the community.
As one can see, GIS Technology is the center of actions when it comes to Smart City. As India embarks on building 100 Smart Cities, it’s leadership needs to make sure that right technologies are deployed to make better decisions faster!