This week’s Smart City roundup takes a look into the progress of smart cities, a smart sustainable city rising in the desert, and a smart concrete formula that could help give rise to smart cities around the world.

Where is the smart city?

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With so much talk of a future where everything is connected to the Internet, information easily obtained with a single tap on a touchscreen device, are we really are on our way to a connected future? Or is it all hype?

Anthony M. Townsend researches the implications of technology on cities and public institutions, sharing his findings and opinions in his book Smart Cities: Big Data, Civic Hackers, and the Quest for a New Utopia.

In the book, Townsend describes smart cities as a place where information technology is combined with everyday objects to address social, economic and even environmental issues.  He goes on to explain that a smart cities can vary from place to place as it would depend on social norms and context to determine the appropriate solutions needed.

Townsend defined a smart city as “a community that is using new digital technologies to address these timeless problems like fighting crime, reducing traffic, or disposing of waste.”  He used New York as an example of a smart city that utilizes data from existing systems to come up with solutions to make people’s live flow more smoothly.

Big tech companies are investing in a connected future, but Townsend stated in his book that their focus is on the technology itself, not the end user.  He believes that the most effective smart cities will be the ones that takes into consideration the abilities and interest of its inhabitants.

Smart sustainable city to rise in Dubai

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The Dubai Municipality announced that Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has approved the plans to build a smart sustainable city in the shape of a desert flower.

Aptly named the Desert Rose, the smart sustainable city will adopt sustainability standards in terms of economic, social, cultural and environmental aspects that would depend on natural resources and renewable energy.

Desert Rose is a residential sector which will include various sustainable housing areas placed near general services and facilities, such as the city center, connected to the Dubai Metro via an electronic train track.  It will also feature an eco-friendly pedestrian pathway, and a green belt used for agricultural purposes.  The Internet of Things will also play a huge role in Desert Rose as roads and transportation will be connected to a network and will be synced with land use data, not to mention modern communication will be an added attraction for the sustainable city.

A competition for students in college and university level has also been launched with the sole purpose of finding the best ideas to be applied at Desert Rose.  The top 10 winners will be rewarded with prizes and recognition.

Smart concrete could be the future of smart cities

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Research and development company Oceanit Laboratories developed a special type of concrete able to transmit and respond to mechanical, acoustic and magnetic signals, thanks to nanotechnology.  Nanite, the winner of the NASA Nano 50 award in 2008, is a hybrid nanomaterial-based additive that transforms traditional concrete into a highly durable material with multifunctional properties.

At the Offshore Technology Conference, Oceanit showcased the capabilities of Nanite.  The company is currently working with major oil companies and the Department of Energy to explore how Nanite can be used to obtain information from infrastructures that are not usually accessible for data collection, such as oil and gas wells, and can even be used as a material for road and bridge construction, or even in buildings.

With smart concrete able to transmit data, small changes in the integrity of the infrastructure can be key to early detection of disastrous problems such as a bridge or building collapsing.  Nanite can also serve as a form of security and be used for perimeter security, intruder detection and tracking foot traffic for buildings.

Oceanit will be leading a 36-month funded program collaborating with several other companies to test the Nanite’s effectivity in providing information on the integrity of cement barriers in oil and gas well; identify and measure the stress on casing, cement shrinkage and well conditions throughout the life of the well; and monitor the infiltration of gas, mud, and various fluids into the cement.

photo credit: Thomas Hawk via photopin cc