How do you build a smart city?

As smart devices have developed, so too have smart cities, and in turn they have become the aim of governments around the world.

A smart city uses digital technologies and ICT to enhance its services, reduce resource consumption and engage more efficiently with its citizens. Put simply, it’s a city that provides a better quality of living.

Dubai, for example, has set its sights on becoming the smartest city in the world.

“Smart City’s main aim is to provide better connections and increase cooperation between the Emirate and its residents,” said His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president of the UAE and ruler of Dubai. “It promotes the use of government facilities using the largest possible number of smart applications.”

But how do you establish a smart city? To find out Wamda spoke with Professor Carlo Ratti, an architect, engineer, inventor, educator and activist who teaches at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). As director of the Senseable City Lab, he leads a research group that explores new technologies in new cities. He was named one of the “50 most influential designers in America” by Fast Company and highlighted in Wired magazine’s “Smart List: 50 people who will change the world.”