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It is common to think that in a ranking of smart cities in Brazil or in the world, technology is the feature that differentiates the winning cities from the others. Not always. Created in 2008 by IBM, the smart city concept values how much a city can transform territories with high population density – and with complex demands, as a result – into environments that increase everyone’s quality of life through intelligent solutions.
The most prestigious international ranking of smart cities, the IESE Cities in Motion Index (CIMI), created by the IESE Business School at the University of Navarra, Spain, takes into account nine key dimensions and studies them considering a large number of success cases in a series of in-depth interviews with city leaders, business people, academics and experts on city development. The conceptual model of CIMI is composed of: Governance, Economy, Social Cohesion, Human Capital, International Projection, Technology, Urban Planning, Mobility and Transport and Environment.
Urban mobility as a distinguishing feature of a smart city
More and more, the displacement of people or goods within a city are decisive elements for the acquisition of a property by a family or even for the construction of a commercial development. Seeking to highlight intelligent solutions for this aspect, CIMI establishes mobility and transport as key elements for the development of a city – and this does not always require cutting-edge technology. According to the index, which evaluates cities all around the world, indicators such as road and route infrastructure, vehicle fleet and public transport and even the availability of air transport affect the quality of life of a population. Success in integrating and making each of these factors work can also be decisive for the sustainability of the city over time. Another fundamental factor in the mobility category are the externalities generated in the production system, both because of the need to move the workforce and because of the need of production distribution.
Of the 13 items that make up the mobility and transport factor, some are worth mentioning. The ranking takes into account indexes that measure traffic in general, traffic inefficiency and exponential traffic. Long travel times and longer-than-necessary journeys are real problems that smart cities need to address. The number of arrival flights (air routes) in a city is also taken into account to define the intelligence of a city when it is necessary to solve the urban mobility challenge.
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Economic dimension of a smart city
Looking at the economy of a smart city means valuing all aspects that promote the economic development of a territory, including: local development plans, transition plans and strategic industrial plans; cluster generation; innovation; and business initiatives. To measure this dimension in the cities studied, CIMI takes into account, for example, the motivation that people have to carry out entrepreneurial activities at an early stage, whether out of creativity or out of necessity, and the number of publicly traded company headquarters.
Another indicator is the measured productivity level. According to the study, labor productivity makes it possible to measure the robustness, efficiency and technological level of the production system. With regard to local and international competitiveness, productivity will have repercussions on real wages, capital income and corporate profits. Current productivity rates may explain differences in workers’ quality of life – and in the sustainability of the production system over time. Other indicators selected as representative of this dimension allow the measurement of some aspects of a city’s business scenario, such as the time required to start a business; and the ease, in regulatory terms, of opening a business.
Smart Cities are more sustainable
Meeting the needs of the present, creating ways to ensure the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, must be, in essence, the basis of all solutions linked to the environment in a smart city. Anti-pollution plans, support for green buildings and alternative energy, efficient water and waste management and the existence of policies that help to contain the effects of climate change are some of the initiatives valued by the CIMI ranking. The indicators observed include measurements of sources of air pollution and water quality in cities, which are indicators of the quality of life of their inhabitants, as well as the sustainability of their production or urban matrix.
Of the 11 indicators covered by the study, it is worth highlighting those responsible for tracking the level of air pollution, as they are substances strongly related to the greenhouse effect. According to CIMI, CO2 emissions come from burning fossil fuels and manufacturing cement, while methane emissions derive from human activities such as agriculture and industrial methane production.
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