It is a dream of all to live in a city that makes you efficient and comfortable. Do you know what these cities are called? These cities are called Smart cities. Let us take an example to understand this concept better. We will be discussing Amsterdam city in this article. The reason for discussing Amsterdam is that it is one of the cities of innovation: Amsterdam as a hyper-connected city.
The concept of Smart cities
Smart cities are cities that can easily fulfill the needs of its resident. To know more about Smart cities let us see the concept of Smart cities-
- A smart city is a framework, made primarily of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), for developing, deploying, and promoting sustainable development methods in response to growing urbanization concerns.
- A significant component of this ICT architecture is a network of intelligently connected objects and machines (also known as a digital city) that transfer data utilizing wireless technologies and the cloud.
- Cloud-based IoT applications receive, analyse, and manage data in real-time to assist municipalities, businesses, and individuals in making better decisions that enhance the quality of life.
- Using smartphones, mobile devices, and connected automobiles and homes, citizens interact with smart city ecosystems in numerous ways. When gadgets and data are integrated with a city’s physical infrastructure and services, expenses can be reduced and sustainability enhanced.
- Using the Internet of Things, communities can enhance energy distribution, waste collection, traffic congestion, and air quality.
Does Amsterdam have the necessary infrastructure to develop into a hyperconnected city?
So, for the Cities of innovation: Amsterdam as a Hyperconnected city Consider the specifications.
- High-speed mobile and broadband infrastructure: A hyper-connected metropolis requires the most advanced digital infrastructure to support a diverse array of new businesses, services, and products. Amsterdam has experienced high adoption and penetration rates for both wired and wireless broadband, and the Amsterdam Internet Exchange provides a hyper connection.
- Integral logistical and commercial infrastructure: The Port of Amsterdam, the Port of Rotterdam, and Schiphol Airport all contribute to Amsterdam’s world-class logistics infrastructure. Due to their need to seek outside its borders, the Netherlands has historically been a centre for trade throughout Europe and beyond, and this legacy continues to this day.
- Event infrastructure: In many cases, the numerous conferences, tradeshows, and events held in Amsterdam serve as an introduction to the city. These situations can favour chance encounters. Recently, HBR published an intriguing piece on the significance of encouraging serendipity. The article explores what would occur if the infrastructure of such events were centered on the actual innovators, those who travel to Amsterdam to satisfy their need for finding as outlined in The Innovator’s DNA.
- Cultural infrastructure: Museums and cultural events play a significant and sometimes underappreciated role in drawing the proper people to a place. Conference and tradeshow organizers incorporate a city’s cultural attractions into their location plan, as culture serves as a magnet for global residents, leaders, and the creative class. Amsterdam has an abundance of cultural offerings in the visual and performing arts, as well as the creative industries.
- Infrastructure for livability: In terms of both social cohesion and green space, Amsterdam is a very liveable metropolis. The livability of a place is crucial in determining where a company’s CEO would live and where an entrepreneur will establish a base.
- Infrastructure for innovation without restrictions: The strong network of knowledge institutes in Amsterdam, coupled with a thriving creative industries sector, a thriving start-up community, and a high concentration of European and global headquarters, offers the opportunity to bring people together in a cross-disciplinary, cross-ideology, and cross-cultural setting. This operates similarly to the Coffee House effect in Amsterdam, because of its tolerance and open-mindedness, has the potential to become the European hub for engineering diversity, a vital element for breakthrough innovation. Hence, cities of innovation: Amsterdam as a hyper-connected city is possible.
Building a Hyperconnected City
Building a Hyperconnected City is a global, one-year study of 100 metropolitan areas utilizing technology to enhance, connect, and secure their urban ecosystem. The study demonstrates how cities can surpass current smart solutions to become hyperconnected hubs that generate economic, social, and environmental benefits by interconnecting key elements of their urban landscape, such as transportation, public health, energy, water, security, and sustainability.
