Prioritize people in building smart cities 鈥斕齝ity听mayors
Intelligent cities听may be听intertwined with the concepts of data, interconnectivity, and digitalization, but people occupy front and center of these.听听
鈥淚t鈥檚听about improving their lives the most efficient possible way,鈥澨齭aid听Maria Josefina 鈥淛oy鈥 G.听Belmonte, mayor of Quezon City.听听
The Quezon City government has rolled out a market one-stop shop within its E-Services Portal, which allows vendors to reserve and pay rent for a public market stall.听听
鈥淸It鈥檚] like the way one would select and pay for seats at a movie theater,鈥 Ms. Belmonte听said听听forum on Wednesday.听听听
鈥淗awkers are also registered, which provides听the听city with data to craft sustainable programs for street vendors,鈥 she added.听听
Quezon City听residents who are not capable of navigating online systems, meanwhile, can seek听assistance听from government personnel stationed听at听the 74 e-services kiosks around the city.听听
Over half (56%) of the听world鈥檚 population live in cities听today. This proportion听is expected to reach around 66% by 2050.听, building cities that 鈥渨ork鈥澨齛nd are green, resilient, and inclusive听require intensive policy coordination and investment choices.听听听听
Insights gained from data can be used to plan听a city鈥檚听development and manage听its听assets and resources, said Ma. Celeste Dy-Donato, professional services director听of听Geodata Systems Technologies, Inc., which听provides听smart mapping and spatial analytics solutions.听听听
鈥淏ecoming an intelligent city is not done overnight, but听I believe everyone is in different stages of this already,鈥 she said.听听
She noted听that听the common traits of every intelligent community are forward-thinking leadership, data-driven decision-making, real-time awareness, collaboration across departments, and civic engagements.听听
鈥淒ata is what fuels an intelligent community,鈥 Ms.听Donato听said, adding that 鈥減ooled intelligence enables successful operations.鈥澨听
Civic engagement is听likewise听very important, she听noted.听听
鈥淲hen this happens, the听community becomes another source听of useful information to inform decisions.鈥澨听听
Alfredo B. Benitez, mayor of Bacolod City听in Western Visayas, said听that听cost听is听the major hurdle听of cities aspiring to become intelligent听communities.听听
Bacolod City听is听leveraging听public-private partnerships听(PPP)听to听鈥渁t听least听front-end some of the听costs, and eventually pay them over time,鈥 he noted.听听
He听also听said an intelligent city is the way to go when it comes to ease of doing听business.听
鈥淲e are known as the City of Smiles. We want to have an environment where people feel good,鈥 Mr. Benitez said. 鈥淲e will be accepting a PPP proposal with just one proponent handling all of our requirements for an intelligent city.鈥澨鈥 Patricia B. Mirasol
