Precedence to tech over people may risk Smart City potential: JLL

Smart city initiatives in the Asia Pacific will not reach their potential if they focus on delivering cutting-edge technologies without paying enough attention to the needs and experiences of citizens, saysa new research, ‘Smart Cities Success: Connecting people, proptech and real estate’, released by real estate consultant JLL, in partnership with Charles Reed Anderson & Associates. A wider collaboration among various stakeholders such as government agencies, technology vendors and users, is desired to drive these Missions successfully, the report said.

The research also highlighted the opportunity for a more human-centric approach to smart city development, which promotes inclusiveness, efficiency, sustainability and transparency. It said that as the real estate industry catches up in technology, it could bridge the gap between smart city solutions and the physical spaces where people work, live, and play.

“Cities are unleashing technologies such as the Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence to solve some of the pressing problems of urbanisation – whether it’s traffic or waste disposal or public safety. This has the potential to change the way we live and work, as well as how we interact with the buildings and infrastructure in our cities. These innovations hold particular promise in the Asia Pacific where city populations are growing rapidly. India’s Smart Cities Missionneeds a similar approach,” saidRamesh Nair, CEO & Country Head, JLL India.

India has a US$30 billion Smart Cities Mission.Launched in 2015 to improve sustainability, provide affordable housing and tackle other issues to ensure a “citizen-friendly” environment across 100 cities, it was hailed as a bold and necessary step to cope with India’s rapid urbanisation.After four years of drive and some 5000 projects later, there have been significant breakthroughs.

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