Defining Smart

When you google the definition of ‘smart,’ the two definitions of its use as an adjective read:

1. Having or showing a quick-witted intelligence.
2. (Of a device) programmed to be capable of some independent action.

Drilling down a bit more on the first definition, having a quick wit is a characteristic of thinking and responding quickly, while intelligence is having the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills. This infers the ability to apply information and skills quickly and effectively.

A device in today’s environment is marketed as smart, however by the second definition it must be programmed to do something without direct instruction (independent action). A smartphone isn’t any smarter than an old rotary phone if its “smart” capabilities are not used.

Smart can be simply stated as how well you use what you have.

The tools we use in a smart community are not inherently smart, but the system or users can become smart with the proper use of the tools and data they generate.

For years communities have had systems (trash, roads, parking, water, sewer, etc.) working independently. Now, with technology improving data gathering and communication, these communities need to bring it all together.

This all seems reasonable but let us consider why a community wants to invest effort and dollars into creating this smart infrastructure.

The Purpose of a Smart Community

Gathering a consensus of what defines a smart city/community/campus, similar phrases and adjectives are used to describe the what and the why:

A smart community…

• uses information and communication technologies.
• understands the potential of information technology.
• uses devices and applications to create new experiences or services.
• make a conscious decision to use technology.

…as a way to (purpose)…

• transform life and work in significant and positive ways.
• improve both the quality of government services and citizen welfare.
• facilitate operational efficiency.
• optimize the flow of energy, people, and data.

While there is no sole definition of a smart city/community/campus, it can generally be deduced that the goal is to simply Make Life Better.

Making Life Better

The utilization of technology and data crosses all industries and services comprising a community. The integration and multi-disciplinary sharing of technology, data, and resources promote more efficient and effective use of all three to improve the services and experiences of the community.

Smart solutions make life better from a variety of perspectives: transactional, movement, storage, curb management, aggregation, planning, and efficiency. Following are examples of smart solutions and how communities use smart technology to make life better for people.

Transactional

Numerous financial transactions are made every day. Smart technology helps to streamline the transaction process and provide convenience for consumers.

• Mobile wallets, such as Apple Pay, store information from a credit or debit card on a cell phone and can consolidate multiple payment types into one location. Mobile wallets have added levels of security as authentication is needed to access the app and the data stored in mobile wallets is encrypted so actual card numbers are not transmitted. The pandemic has accelerated the use of contactless mobile payments, as consumers are becoming more sensitive to cashier and device interactions. More than 92 million Americans made at least one mobile payment during a 6-month period in 2020.¹
• Peer to peer payment such as Paypal and Venmo (owned by Paypal), which allow people to quickly pay one another without sharing account details, have also risen in popularity. As of Q1 2022, there were 429 million active Paypal accounts worldwide.²
• Relating this to parking, pay by cell phone can be more convenient for parkers and operators. Parkers can pay in a secured and sheltered environment, and do not have to carry exact change to feed the meter. Operators choosing to implement a pay-by-cell only environment can save substantially on parking equipment, operations, maintenance costs, and cash handling expenses. The adoption rate for pay by cell phone is increasing, as noted by a Walker Consultants survey of 50 U.S. state capital cities identifying the presence of on-street pay by cell options, finding that 79% of capital cities charging for on-street parking offer pay by cell.³

Movement

Smart city solutions have improved the way we move by providing us with more smart mobility options.

• Transportation Network Companies such as Uber and Lyft make it quicker and more convenient to book rides using a smartphone. For Uber alone, 6.9 billion trips were completed in 2019.⁴
• Micromobility solutions such as dockless scooters and bike shares enable people to book with a smartphone app. These solutions can be particularly beneficial in providing first-mile/last mile connections and to help people circulate around certain land uses such as college campuses.
• Microtransit relies on smartphone apps or other technology platforms for ride requests and routing details. The app-based approach allows operators to match requests to routes and available vehicles in real-time. Microtransit can fill gaps in the transit service network, such as in rural areas lacking the population density necessary for fixed-route service, or it can serve as a first-last mile service to high-frequency transit such as Seattle’s Via to Transit program, which helps connect riders directly to light rail stations.

Vehicle Storage

Smart solutions can make finding a parking space easier and faster. The City of San Francisco implemented SF Park, a demand-responsive parking program, where the city installed smart parking meters and in-ground sensors to measure parking occupancy. When demand is high, parking prices increase and when demand is low prices decrease. As a result of the initial SF Park pilot program, the following improvements were seen in SF Park areas:⁵

• Parking availability improved—time of target parking occupancy increased by 31%.
• Economic activity increased—sales tax revenue increased 22%.
• Parking rates were lower – average hourly meter rates reduced by 11 cents; garage rates reduced by 42 cents.
• Parking search time decreased – parking search time decreased by 43%.
• Due to the success of the pilot program, the SF Park program became permanent and was expanded citywide.

Curb Management

The curb has numerous demands, including parking, commercial deliveries, TNC pick-up/drop-offs, food delivery services, shared bikes and scooters, and outdoor community spaces. Smart technology solutions help cities more effectively plan for and manage their curb with inventory, utilization, and visualizing their current mix of curb uses and regulations. Cameras using video analytics, mapping, and smartphone app-based technologies can help with data capture, processing, and visualization by capturing curb activity throughout the day.

Washington, D.C. conducted a three-month pilot where curb parking was removed at nine locations to create loading zones for commercial pick up and drop off. The city partnered with curbFlow to provide a curb management app enabling commercial drivers to reserve time slots in loading zones, on-demand or in-advance. As a result, incidents of double parking and illegal U-turns decreased by an estimated 64% in immediate proximity to the zones.⁶ The City also collected valuable data on curb activity to inform future planning efforts.

Curb management technology is still new and continuously evolving and opportunities to vet and test the range of new curb management technology products in the field are ongoing. For example, Walker Consultants worked with the City of Sacramento on a passenger loading pilot and tested curb activity with computer vision technology. The city had anecdotal reports of frequent pickup and drop-off activity at the curb across the street from a hospital. During the pilot, the city removed the parking meters, marking the area as a passenger loading zone, and collected curb activity data during the pilot using camera and video analytic technology. The data disproved the anecdotal reports as people were still parking in this space long term, despite the labels for passenger loading, proving there was not enough activity to warrant a passenger loading zone. The pilot provided the city with valuable data to make informed decisions and criteria for future curb planning efforts.

Aggregation

A critical component of successful smart cities is the aggregation of data. Boston Consulting Group (BCG) examined approximately 75 smart-city applications in a variety of categories including buildings, energy, environment, health, mobility, and public services.⁷ Nearly half the applications require data sourced from multiple industries or platforms. For example, a parking reservation app assembles garage occupancy data, historical traffic data, current weather data, and information on upcoming public events to determine real-time parking costs. In looking at a broader sense of future applications, BCG found 85% will require cross-industry data aggregation.

Planning

Cities are using technology to plan their infrastructure more effectively.

• Chicago has a smart lighting program where they are changing out 270,000 streetlights to LED lighting equipped with intelligent controls which make the lights stay dim when no cars or people are around and light up when they detect someone is coming. This will save the city an estimated $10 million per year in energy costs.⁸
• New York City deployed smart trash and recycling stations in Times Square with built-in compaction, fullness sensing and collection notification.⁹ As a result of the program, the total trash capacity increased by almost 200% and 50% less time was spent collecting bins. The bins also increased the recycling rate—40% of public waste was being recycled, up from 15%.
• New digital channels for the public to communicate with local officials could make cities more responsive. New York City, Austin, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, and Toronto have shifted 311 non-emergency service requests to mobile apps. Companies such as SeeClickFix have created an open-source app that cities can deploy for citizens to report issues such as potholes, graffiti, broken streetlights, and dangerous intersections.

Efficiency

Smart solutions help improve efficiency for the administering entity and the end user.

• Wayfinding has been revolutionized by navigation apps, such as Google Maps or Waze, assisting users in finding the most efficient route to get to their destination, as well as providing local governments data for planning and management. The City of Louisville signed a data-sharing agreement with Waze, gaining access to real-time traffic data while also providing the public with up-to-date information on road closures through the app.¹⁰
• Improvement of traffic flow through dynamic optimization of traffic lights and speed limits can lead to less frequent stop-and-go conditions. The City of Seattle implemented dynamic signaling at 32 intersections along one of its congested traffic corridors. Sensors were installed at these intersections collecting data on traffic volume, vehicle speeds, and direction of travel to make stoplight signal adjustments in real-time. As a result, corridor travel time averages dropped from 34 minutes to 17 minutes.¹¹
• Automated parking guidance systems (APGS) make it easier to find a parking space and can help maximize the existing parking supply. A study conducted by Two Willows Consulting at Brisbane International Airport in Australia showed after installing a robust single space APGS, the average per car travel time was reduced by 90 seconds, equating to an annual travel time of 85,312 hours, resulting in reduced greenhouse gas emissions.¹²

When communities can “bring it all together,” more comprehensive and robust solutions become available, broadening the appeal and experience of community life.

The Details are in the Data

Data is how the knowledge and experience of a community is expressed, making data the currency of any smart community. How data it is gathered, communicated, and utilized is really the essence of what constitutes a smart community. The “smart” infrastructure provides the process and tools that collect the data, process the data into usable formats, communicate the data, and analyze the data. All of which becomes a perpetual feedback loop when decisions makers use the analyzed data to make life better for its citizens.

Tools

Tools are necessary in any environment where data collection is required. Tools:

• Can be used to encourage behavior.
• Generate, or more accurately, collect data.
• Are necessary to operate a system.

Tools have been a focus in our industry for many years, however, by themselves they cannot go beyond the execution of their intended use. This creates the need to integrate multiple tool and data types into a data management platform.

Smart Management Platform

The platform is the “behind the scenes” workhorse organizing and formatting the data collected to facilitate use. Ideally the platform can:

• Take the data inputs from multiple sources with an agnostic approach to the tools, i.e., an open Application Programming Interface (API) with multiple vendors, making its value based on how it collects and uses the data rather than where the data originates.
• Control how the tools are used or implemented.
• Provide a basis for improved development of tools to streamline data collection and operations.

The data should now be in a usable format to communicate and analyze for operational and policy adjustments.

Data Analysis

Data analysis can be categorized into two methodologies:

Trend Analysis

Trend analysis has been the traditional use of data and is important for planning purposes. This type of analysis takes the past occurrences, or trends, to help make decisions about future needs or performance. It is often static in its application, however, as ‘on-demand’ data is integrated into the analysis, more success with predictive analysis can be achieved.

Predictive Analysis

Predictive analysis can have a direct influence on real-time operations and allows for more efficient uses of resources for day-to-day operations. By using more nuanced, real-time data, (such as weather, event schedules, traffic conditions, etc.) in conjunction with trend analysis, more detailed and accurate results can be found. This allows for smart solutions to be programmed with machine learning capabilities, leading to automated (predictive) decisions being made within operations.

When effective data analysis and improved operations are paired with the proper communication to the public, the goal of making life better begins to be realized.

Getting Started

Once the goals are set, it is important to understand the components of implementing a smart community strategy. These key elements are tools, commitment, and focus.

Tools

Tools are the tactical elements of the smart community as they are the practical solutions for delivering the products and services of the community and are the primary source of data collection. It is imperative that tools are:

• Usable—if not practical, it will not help the system. It is important to focus on the best in class to encourage the best results in compliance and data gathering.
• Customer Friendly—if not used, data will not be captured. It should be easy for the customer (both internal and external) to access and be engaged.
• Integrative—needs to work well with other solutions and multiple platforms. Open API is key.

The quality of the data and the ability to organize and interpret data starts with the tools. It is important to be intentional when selecting the tools and platforms to support the smart community solution.

Commitment

Inherent in the success of any endeavor is the commitment of its champion(s). This will help keep the process on track and will protect against detractors or overzealous supporters. Important for smart community success is to have commitment to:

• The use of experts—experts are your vendors, consultants, industry associations, etc. These experts are often in the thick of the early adoption process for other communities, giving them the expertise through their experiences, both good and bad. Ride the coattails of those who have gone before.
• Stakeholders—super users, data inputters, constituents, ambassadors, administrators, community groups, business owners, etc. Keep stakeholders involved, especially those who ‘carry the torch’ so they can celebrate in the success and not be blindsided by the setbacks. Stakeholders can make or break a community’s ability to commit to the process.
• Quality of input—you can only get out what you put in. If you ensure quality data is entered, you will have a more accurate analysis. The goal is to give the process the best chance of success to keep commitment strong.

Focus

Having strong focus will keep the goal as clear as possible. It is important to focus intently on a few action items, work through the process to achieve the results and only then move on to the next goal. You will want to avoid the temptation of trying to do too much at the beginning by attempting to execute on parallel project goals. This can unintentionally involve too many stakeholders, strain funding resources, and create too many opportunities for something to go wrong.

Having milestone successes will allow opportunities to prove the model as you go and increase the chances of buy-in momentum as you progress. By limiting the focus and progressing intentionally, you can ensure the best technologies are available when you are ready.

Simply put, smart communities make the best use of the resources at their disposal to improve the quality of life for citizens. A smart community platform will help collect and organize data for analysis to improve operational and predictive services. When paired with a strategy that implements proper tools, is committed, and stays focused, a smart community can truly help Make Life Better. ◆