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Smart cities in Bangladesh

Published Time: May 29, 2019, 12:01 am
Updated Time: May 28, 2019 at 9:15 pm

M S Siddiqui writes for DOT

We are familiar with smart phone, smart building or smart television

etc developed in the recent years. During the latest years of 20th
century, two important phenomena have been emerging: urbanization
and information and communication technologies (ICT). Due to
development of in both urbanization and ICT and economic growth
contributed to increase well-being, mainly in the greater urban areas.
These urban areas are now known as intelligent city, knowledge city,
ubiquitous city, sustainable city, green city, digital city, etc. and very
recent smart city. Some of the cities around the world have been
branded a smart city. The recent introduction of some on line store for
different shopping solution, UBER, Pathao etc in trans port sector,
online ticket purchase platform and Bkash/ Rocket for money
transaction has given us a test of digital city. Our cities can initiate
some projects of digital city.
The Population Division of the United Nations estimates that by 2025,
the world will have 447 of these so-called mega-cities of ten or more
million residents, among them such behemoths as Tokyo, Mumbai,
Delhi, Dhaka, Sa˜o Paulo, Mexico City, and Calcutta, each with more
than twenty million residents. The current projections suggest a rise to
70% urban by 2050, a percentage that will surely increase still further
toward the end of this century. Expert suspects that some of these
cities shall have to abandon due to lack of civic facilities in near
future.
Ironically, it is estimated that 80 per cent of world GDP comes from
urban centres. Bangladesh is not exception, currently, the contribution
of Cities to GDP in Bangladesh is 60% and Dhaka city is contributing
30% alone. There is no choice to keep the cities active and productive
for sake of economy of the nations. Some of those cities are struggling
to survive but on the other hand some of the cities transformed to
smart cities.
These cities are often linking together technological informational
transformations with economic, political and socio-cultural change
and integration and adaption. Smart City is a broad concept including
many aspects of urban life, such as urban planning, sustainable
development, environment, energy grid, economic development,
technologies, social participation, and so on; therefore, also the word
smart assumes a large range of meanings, linked with its different
field of application.
Singapore hosted the world city summit (WCS) on July 8-12, 2018
with theme “Livable & Sustainable Cities: Embracing the Future
through Innovation and Collaboration”, It has tried to how cities can
be more livable and resilient through better governance and planning,
technology and social innovations, as well as collaborations with
various stakeholders with other cities. Through shared vision and
active engagement, the public, private and people sectors can co-
create innovative and integrated urban solutions for a more sustainable
future.
It has observed that strategies will be needed to give people good jobs
and see their lives improve. They must feel that the social and
economic models employed include and benefit them.
The policy maker should pay more attention to global trends such as
rapid ageing and growing inequality. As more societies are facing an
increasingly larger proportion of older citizens, cities must adjust to
accommodate greater demands on healthcare quality and costs, how to
engage and include the elderly in meaningful city living, and how to
ensure that an older workforce is integrated as an asset rather than as
an optional add-on. Social capital and social support will be vital to
the wellbeing of the elderly and society in general. The city leaders
may motivate the commuters and concerned on looking after the well
being
On one hand it causes the increasing of cultural level, the creation of
new job opportunities and an improvement of economic conditions.
On the other hand, concentration in cities increased traffic jam, carbon
dioxide, greenhouse gases emissions and waste disposal with
consequences on health conditions. City dimension drives energy and
natural resources demand, the need of territory redevelopment and
adequate infrastructures availability.
The development of smart city leading to a progressive abandonment
of rural areas towards greater cities and metropolis, which can offer
many opportunities in terms of work, education, social life and so on.
It can solve traffic congestion, school overcrowding, air pollution, loss
of open space and skyrocketing public facilities cost.
There is just as much value in abstract expressions that can unite
people, in particular heritage and culture have a crucial input to social
cohesion. There is a role in art and preserved heritage to activate
communities through cultural and heritage institutions, as well as
through arts and cultural activities by interest groups, that will bring
the people together.
The governments should not try to intervene to determine whether
more people should migrate to cities; this should be left to people
themselves and to the market. Mayors of these cities can use
technology to simulate scenarios for cities, and, with the help of
partners including government agencies and technology companies,
use big data to improve urban planning, for example, using mobile
data to model flows of people to quantify the infrastructure needed.
The next stage is to use technology to help build communities, such as
with gaming technology to nudge behavior that is civic and
sustainable, applying big data analytics to understand citizen behavior
better, and data mining, including from counter inquiries, hotline calls
and emails to improve public services.
Dhaka is one of those unplanned cities and all lacking all the
amenities of a livable city. The health care, traffic situation make the
city at the edge of collapse. Even then, let us dream of digital Dhaka,
Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhat, Rongpur, Mymensigh and
Barishal cities with an efficient planning and through private and
public partnership.

Legal Economist, e-mail: mssiddiqui2035@gmail.com