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From urban centre to smart city

We talk of smart cities, but how many of us really understand the depth and breadth offered by the huge strides in technology? Below we explore the emerging opportunities smart cities can create to repurpose and regenerate urban centres.

Smart cities use technology-based infrastructure to improve operational efficiency, share information with the public and provide an improved quality of life for citizens^[1]. Their purpose is to optimise city functions, such as a seamless public transport system, environmental initiatives like monitoring air quality against traffic congestion in real-time, and enabling people to live and work efficiently. 

If the technology is applied well, smart cities offer the potential to accelerate the regeneration of town and city centres. With global commitments to reach net zero and mitigate against the impacts of climate change whilst retaining economic growth, smart cities are the cities of the future, and will help unlock the potential in defunct assets, providing opportunities for jobs and business growth.

Going electric 

As countries around the world begin to decarbonise on the path to net zero, the electrification of heat and transport systems means cities will be quieter. The use of electric vehicles and solar PV panels will mean less air and noise pollution, less congestion and generally make cities more desirable places to live.

Investment in more efficient public transport systems, active travel opportunities, and micro/shared mobility can make urban living super-convenient in a way that suburban and rural locations cannot. A mesh of transport modes (e-scooters, trams, trains, hailing apps, hire bikes, etc.) as part of a successful move to shared mobility, will reduce the need for car parking, allowing space given to roads to be reclaimed. It is estimated that, in London, a ground area the size of the Borough of Camden is used for the storage of vehicles. Reducing this will allow additional space for socialising, business and greenery, providing opportunities to enhance public health and wellbeing. Space will be freed up for events, giving centres new purpose. This will enable the dense urban experience to more closely mirror a suburban one, and enable an ‘outdoors’ lifestyle on streets that have been previously blighted. This process can be accelerated and improved through smart technology proposing street changes. As our Sustainability team have found, working with local Government and city centre asset managers, improving mobility by unlocking and enabling the all-electric smart energy world creates major opportunities for this repurposing of land.

Smart experiences

The rise in online shopping, accelerated by the COVID pandemic, offers consumers convenience and choice, meaning retailers need to find new ways of attracting customers, notably through the growing demand for ‘experiential retail’. Here, customers coming into a physical retail space are offered experiences beyond the traditional ones – amenities provided may include art, live music, virtual reality, sport and so on. The new Sports Direct store in Birmingham will include a permanent golf putting green, running gait analysis machines, and customisation facility for limited edition designs, all of which are intended to generate footfall. Nike’s new immersive ‘Rise’ concept store, which has opened in London, and is due to open in Birmingham soon, features personalised, data-driven features designed to create interactive experiences for those who come into the store. This includes high-tech elements such as a 3-story screen displaying real-time running stats from the local community, and an interactive RFID-powered table where shoppers can compare information about two shoe types before purchasing^[2]. The expectation is that urban centres which offer smart and tailored experiences will be more successful in sustaining footfall and will catalyse further investment opportunities. 

Smart for the environment

The hybrid model of flexible working means people are increasingly coming into the city to socialise and network, and less to spend time in offices. To keep up to pace, we need to understand how to service this through reimagining the public realm. For example, by repurposing places to socialise outside of the office, considering the growing demand for cultural or leisure experiences. As well as an increased demand for a high-quality, inclusive public realm, the COVID pandemic has also accelerated pressure for more health-orientated urban design, with greater demand for green spaces, active travel and safe, pedestrian-friendly streets. Future High Streets Funding was right to try to tackle public realm first.

Smart cities can also provide new ways to help police services connect to citizens, strengthening relationships with communities and improving public safety. According to a McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) report, smart city technology can reduce crime by 30-40%, through technologies such as analytic CCTV, where CCTV systems perform real-time monitoring to automatically alert law enforcement agencies whenever any kind of criminal activity or risk to safety is detected^[3]. In rapidly changing places such as Digbeth in Birmingham, improving perception of safety is a real challenge and the local authority is working closely with stakeholders to provide the necessary smart infrastructure to help tackle this, alongside major transport infrastructure investment. This is helping open up previously unattractive development opportunities.   

Concluding thoughts

A strong public-private sector relationship is critical to a successful smart city, as much of the work to create this data-driven environment falls outside the local Government remit. Cross-sector collaboration is crucial, as well as a widespread understanding and utilisation of these new technologies. Successful smart cities offer highly efficient public transport and traffic systems, use connected technology to monitor and enhance environmental criteria, are progressive in terms of use of space, resource and energy, and are amenable to a citizen’s day-to-day life. We are already seeing cities across the globe adopt strategies reflective of a successful smart city; Oslo fitted 10,000 streetlights with sensors that adjust brightness according to necessity, with a goal to reduce electricity consumption by 70%^[4]. More locally, AI sensors are being installed in Nottingham to reduce congestion and emissions as part of its vision to be carbon neutral by 2028^[5]. We are also beginning to see a role for smart cities in Birmingham; the Future City Plan^[6] seeks to create a high-quality digital environment using data and smart technologies to inform changes to the public realm and improve transport efficiency. 

We must make use of the rapidly advancing technology around us, in order to meet global net zero goals, improve efficiency and quality of life, whilst also providing an opportunity to unlock investment, economic growth, and regeneration. Cities that embrace smart city infrastructure offer the greatest opportunity for regeneration, new investment and long-term success. 

For more information on smart cities and our urban centre work please contact Fin Maguire. 

14 June 2023

[1] What is a Smart City? – Definition and Examples - TWI (twi-global.com)
[2] Nike’s new immersive ‘Rise’ store is a wild, high-tech shopping experience (inverse.com)
[3] How Smart Cities Can Pave The Way To A Safer Society - Jumpstart Magazine
[4] Why Smart Cities Are Set to Play a Role in the UK’s Sustainable Future - EU Business News
[5] Smart Cities World - Air Quality in Cities - Nottingham turns to AI to reduce congestion and emissions
[6] Our Future City: ‘Draft Central Birmingham Framework 2040’ | Our Future City - Draft Central Birmingham 2040 | Birmingham City Council