Dubai: From An urban paradise to aspiring Smart City

In keeping with its ambitions of becoming the first Smart City in the region by 2021, Dubai has unveiled its Smart City platform that will help it bridge the gap across its many sectors en route to their digital transformation.

According to a recent paper by KPMG, Dubai has adopted a unique approach to achieve its Smart City aspirations by focusing on an integrated approach to three themes of cooperation, integration and communication.

It’s a journey that began with the unveiling of the Dubai Data Law in October last that enables the sharing of data between the government and private sector to create more opportunities for collaboration and entrepreneurship between private and government organizations.

Already several government bodies including the Dubai Civil Defense, Dubai Airports, RTA and the DSOA among others are a part of this initiative. Further hectic efforts are currently ongoing to integrate the emirate’s online services with its Smart City initiative.

Dubai’s approach to its Smart City aspirations primarily rests on eight key factors namely, healthcare, telecom, tourism, utilities, education, buildings, transportation and public safety, all of which are linked by the common denominator of technology with end-to-end connectivity being the key enabler.

Once underway, the Dubai Smart City project is likely to commence in three phases. These are Smart Life (education, health care, telecom, transportation, telecommunication, utilities, and energy), Smart Economy (ports, airports, smart bourses, and smart jobs) and Smart Tourism (services like visas, aviation, smart gates, hotels and restaurants).

Key factors that make a city smart:
According to urban experts, there are three main factors involved in the transformation of a city into a Smart City.

Integrated Platform & Data:
It is crucial to acquire information about the key characteristics of the proposed Smart City through multiple sources prior to their meaningful visualisation, aggregation and analytics. They play a key role in how a Smart City is ultimately conceptualized, designed and finally executed.

Data & Analytics:
While aggregating data forms an important part in the Smart City process, it is the detailed analysis of the information via selective and intelligent processing to arrive at a meaningful conclusion that holds the key in the successful implementation of a Smart City project.

Access to government data:
Various government entities ranging from police, healthcare, transport, utilities, communication and so on play a vital role in the smooth functioning of city. In the case of a Smart City all these departments need to be seamlessly linked to enable the sharing of crucial data that can be leveraged to take intelligent and efficient decisions.

The efficient use of such data from governmental entities is a precursor to the evolution of Smarter Cities and the smooth functioning of e-governance. Other key factors here include: safety and security, ensuring financial stability and efficient utility management.

However to ensure the success of any Smart City, the clear focus has to be on its residents and bringing them together. Smart Cities need to serve as a common ground that encourages the development of innovation, culture, business and entrepreneurship among its people.

From a resident’s perspective, efficient digital transformation, easy access to important resources and assured safety of life and property are all key pre-requisites of life in a Smart City. Unless every individual is allowed to integrate with a Smart City ecosystem that can ensure is happiness any transformation to a smarter urban environment is meaningless.