Page 61 - ICSE GEOGRAPHY

Diff erence between Smart City and happiness. Sustainable city initiatives
Sustainable City mainly deal with policies and physical
Smart city is a term that is used for cities initiatives which focus on green cover, public
that manage their services, infrastructure transportation, architecture, community
and facilities with the help of information facilities, blue infrastructure, streets and
technology, such as artifi cial intelligence. public space. In this context, smart city
Although smart city initiatives oft en include technology is applied and used.
the idea of sustainability, in some cases this
Fact Corner
isn’t the main focus. Most oft en, smart city
initiatives are focused on transportation The British market research fi rm called
Juniper Research has bestowed the title
which includes maintaining highways,
of ‘World’s Smartest City’ to Barcelona
policing and security, city services, cost in 2015 on account of smart traffi c
reduction and management of infrastructure. management. Installation of smart grids
A sustainable city is a city that has adopted and smart traffi c lights have curbed the
problems of transportation and also
the dual goal of environmental protection
reduced the emissions from vehicles
and a good quality of life. Quality of life considerably.
is commonly measured as self-reported

Let’s Recall

• Cities have their roots in the great river valley civilisations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus Valley
and China. After the Industrial Revolution, urban centres grew rapidly.
• 13 per cent of people lived in urban settlements in the year 1900 and 29 per cent of people
lived in urban settlements in the year 1950.
• Urbanisation refers to a general increase in population and the amount of industrialisation of a
settlement.
• Industrialisation, social factors, modernisation and economic opportunities are the key factors
behind urbanisation.
• Some positive implications of urbanisation are the creation of employment opportunities,
technological and infrastructural advancements, improved transportation and
communication, quality educational and medical facilities, and improved standard of living.
• Negative implications of urbanisation are housing problems, inability to manage the sewage
system properly, rise in crime, air pollution and unemployment.
• Some ways to manage urbanisation are creating more job opportunities, controlling the
population, building environment-friendly cities and providing essential services.
• Satellite cities are smaller metropolitan areas located near large metropolitan areas to help the
cities extend in all possible ways.
• Smart cities integrate ICT and IoT to manage the city’s assets and thereby promote a better
quality of life.

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