The Future of Smart Cities and the Interconnection to Digital Health
Author
Author’s Affiliation
Course Name and Number
Instructor’s Name
Title
Assignment due Date
Abstract
There has been a lot of discussions lately about "smart cities." There is a smart and
connected ecosystem in which people and companies are both active participants and
stakeholders. Cities are trying to become smarter to address the difficulties of meeting
quality-of-life and social development goals. The development goals arise from
comprehensive and innovative knowledge-based policies to improve cities' socioeconomic,
environmental and competitive performance. The article examines the benefits and
drawbacks of society using smart cities as a case study. As the most powerful economic and
social forces of our day become more prevalent in the areas where most of us live and work,
"Smart City" concepts are emerging to address these issues. Many IoT devices are being
developed with smart cities, raising worries about cybersecurity and personal data protection
(Schuilenburg & Peeters, 2018). Because of this, it's critical to look at how smart cities will
affect people's social interactions. The paper also addresses the economic impacts of smart
cities and their effects on the world in general. The article also discusses digital health, its
relation to smart cities and how people interactions with technology will change in smart
cities.
Introduction
A city is a grouping of people who live close to one another in a geographically
defined area. When it comes to urban infrastructure, it may be anything from sewage
treatment plants and water reclamation facilities to police stations and fire departments.
There are also various other types of facilities, including utility services, public schools and
public libraries. Instead, a smart city is a vision of the city's future that encourages public
participation and integrates technology into the city's infrastructure. To enhance the quality
of life and fulfil people's demands, smart cities must use technology to increase the
efficiency of services and provide new "eco-friendly" employment (McKenna, 2020). The way
municipal authorities engage with the population and the city's infrastructure is shaped by
technological advancements. Real-time sensors and control systems are used to gather and
analyze data in real-time from people and sensor systems. The collected data and expertise
are essential for combating inefficiencies and, as a result, improving systems. A smart city
can use technology to identify what's occurring in the city, how it's changing, and how to
enhance the quality of life for its residents. This paper aims to discuss smart cities' economic
and social impacts and how they have changed the world in general. The research also
addresses digital health and how humans will interact with technology in smart cities. Further
studies on the political aspects of smart cities are also done.
The impacts that smart cities have on society
According to the United Nations Population Fund, 54% of the world's population, or
about 3.3 billion people, resided in urban areas in 2014. About 66 per cent of the world's
population, or 5 billion people, will be living in cities by 2030. We're about to be put to the
test in terms of how we build and manage metropolitan areas, and this is a crucial
opportunity to help billions of people. The following are some of the societal ramifications of
smart cities:
Citizens with Internet Access
The use of customer-related devices was the focus of many innovative strategies.
They mostly refer to using high-tech mobile phones these days, but a growing number of
consumer devices are being linked and put to use in innovative municipal applications (Patel
& Doshi, 2019). Tablets, GPS, and cameras all come included in certain models. Then
there's the continuous integration of new software and equipment into consumer devices.
Such "perceptual figuring" software development kits (SDKs) allow machines to "read" their
customers' external looks and are already being included in mobile phones. One might use a
camera attached to a tripod to transmit images of a street in a neighbouring area that needs
repair, or an app could "read" the enthusiastic responses of customers when they are in
certain parts of the city and use that information to plan future activities (Patel & Doshi,
2019). These devices alter the traditional relationship between system software and
hardware purchased by the customer. Some cultured cells can be used even if no person is
present to initiate the process. Systems were traditionally sized for end-users who made
good use of a mobile phone through SMS or phone calls or browsed the web. Apps that
often use the system should almost likely have their systems tailored to their needs.
Awareness of citizens and cost of living
Innovative concepts for cities, such as smart cities, are gaining traction in developing
countries like India, Brazil, and elsewhere, where the vast majority of the population is
mostly uneducated. When computerized administrations are imposed on uninformed people,
they leave them susceptible to damage themselves and their framework. This problem must
be addressed as it arises. The framework for a smart city is being built, and activities will
require an enormous investment.
The impacts that smart cities have on the economy
Economic growth requires the commitment, incentives, foresight, and leadership of
the government. A "growth in GDP" is what economic development means, while economic
growth is the opposite. As opposed to this haphazard economic growth, smart economic
development uses emerging technologies to boost productivity and save expenses while
also fostering innovation (Musa & WeSam, 2017). Reducing unemployment and creating jobs
will lead to a stronger economy, improved quality of life, and prosperity. Reducing poverty
and crime will also help. When it comes to a region's economic health, smart city technology
may make all the difference. Smart city initiatives can create jobs and raise the overall
economy by leveraging economies of scale. The usage of Information Technology strongly
influences productivity and economic growth in creating products and services. Information
and Communications Technology (ICT) governance and human capital enrichment in smart
cities would bring about good societal transformation.
Smart-Eco Cities in Germany
Around 2013, the phrase "smart city" became popular in discussions about German
city development. However, because of worries over the term's negative implications for the
German public, several municipal administrations subsequently chose to rename similar
initiatives "Digitalization Strategies" instead. In Germany, there is very little cooperation
between federal and municipal smart city efforts (Späth et al., 2017). As part of its "digital
agenda" strategy, the federal government has made several key decisions.
A steering committee comprised of the state secretaries of the national ministries of
economic affairs, interior, transport, and digital infrastructure has been established as a
crucial platform for debating digital policy in Germany. An annual "National IT-Summit,"
renamed in 2017 "Digital Summit," is routinely utilized to create a conversation between
government, economy, science, and civil society. Furthermore. A working committee had
previously prepared a programmatic paper on Smart Cities and Regions at the National IT-
Summit in 2015.
There is no federal program to fund the execution of smart city projects, even though
many ministries and steering groups are interested and committed to working together to
develop digitization plans in German cities. Even so, the Federal Ministry of Education and
Research has provided funding for smart-city research and testing on many occasions. A lot
of attention was paid to smart city projects and associated research in 2015 when the
Ministry of Science and Research launched the Agenda for Urban Research and
accompanying events under the title Zukunftsstadt - City of the Future.
Smart Cities in Netherlands
Rotterdam and the Dutch regional area in the European Union are intertwined with
urban green space. Many regional strategic strategies have been impacted by the
Netherlands, one of the EU's founding members. The city's environmental and geographical
policies, particularly the green space policy, are harmful to Dutch influence in the EU.
Environmental policy has emerged as a top priority for the Netherlands to meet EU-endorsed
sustainable development targets. When it comes to building Rotterdam's infrastructure, the
concept of cooperation and partnership emphasizes people. According to Rotterdam's view,
the physical and nonphysical components are now one entity. Because of this, infrastructure
development always entails a wide range of stakeholders, from the initial planning stages to
ongoing maintenance (Varró & Bunders, 2020). The Rotterdam idea is used to attract other
city networks utilizing the philosophy that has been implemented in other cities. It's a win-win
situation for both towns when the city of Rotterdam works with private experts to evaluate
city-to-city relations.
On the other hand, the selected consultants have a wealth of knowledge and
expertise in urban design (Oughton, et al., 2019). After that, they collaborate with local
governments to develop plans tailored to the needs of the community (Syahid et al, 2017).
Because the adaptation is not a carbon copy of Rotterdam's approach, local partners will be
essential.
Smart Cities in America
More and more people across the globe, including those in the United States, are
relocating to metropolitan areas, driving up demand for resources and services. According to
the United Nations, thirty-four cities across the globe will have populations higher than 10
million people by 2025 (Perboli & Rosano, 2020). Cities in the United States are searching
for methods to become "smarter" and more responsive to people' needs to meet the
increasing demands of so many future residents who will live, work, drive, and interact with
one another. And they're turning to the Internet of Things to help them do this (IoT). Using
the latest IoT Smart Cities innovation, cities can utilize resources more effectively to
enhance the quality of air and water and transportation, energy, and communication systems
(Sancino & Hudson, 2020). To take advantage of the Internet of Things, local governments
will spend around $41 trillion over the next two decades. The Internet of Things (IoT) is
poised to impact city dwellers' quality of life profoundly (ANGELIDOU, 2018). Citizens will
benefit from better resource management and a slew of other IoT-enabled social and
economic benefits as 21st-century infrastructure becomes more intelligent and connected.
Smart Cities in China
In 2016, it got projected that over a thousand smart city initiatives were underway
across the globe, with half of them taking place in China. By 2019, more than 700 Chinese
cities have planned or claimed to build smart city infrastructure, according to official reports
and development plans (Hu, 2019). China was a latecomer to smart city development, but it
has caught up and now leads the world in terms of the number of smart cities (HaiXia, 2019).
In the last decade, China has seen a rise in the smart city movement, following the
worldwide trend but moving quickly. China's economic development and urbanization
reached a transformational stage about 2010 when the smart city movement began. Rural
society in deep poverty, China embarked on the'reform and opening-up program headed by
Deng Xiaoping in 1978 (Shi et al., 2018). Since then, China has become the world's second-
largest economy and has seen the most rapid urbanization ever (Qin & Qi, 2021). However,
the urban revolution in China has not been without its challenges, the most notable of which
are pollution, resource use, and environmental damage (Browne, 2020).
Smart Cities in Singapore
Singapore has several geographical and resource constraints. Despite being just a
few degrees north of the equator, the island nation is hot and humid all year. The island has
no energy reserves, forests, or agriculture. Singapore has become an Asian tiger economy,
reliant on international commerce and a highly educated workforce. It presently has a free
market economy (Lee etal., 2016).
Singapore's situation is unique, owing to its worldwide state status. Land scarcity is
the main source of major urban issues. With its increasing population density and
environmental sustainability, Singapore has unique difficulties in balancing livability,
ecological sustainability, and economic competitiveness. A tiny city's traffic congestion,
environmental challenges, and housing shortages are all worsened. As a result, Singapore
realized the need for a long-term, comprehensive plan to ensure sustainable growth without
compromising a clean, green environment (Lee etal., 2016). Singapore has always desired
to be the world's brightest city. Since 1971, Singapore has published a long-term (40-50
years) concept plan and five-year plans for smart development. The government has been
thorough. As a result, Singapore is already a technologically advanced city with integrated
ICT infrastructure.
Digital Health
Information and communication technologies are used in medicine and other health
professions to treat and prevent disease and other health concerns and promote well-being
via digital health (Jin et al., 2020).
Telemedicine
When personal computers and early videoconferencing technology first became
widely available in the 1980s, they paved the way for the development of telemedicine. The
telemedicine, in turn, made remote health treatment possible (Lee et al., 2016). Clinical
treatment in distant areas and in the setting of uncommon diseases, when expert input was
required but not locally accessible, was facilitated by early telemedicine technologies (Chau
et al,. 2019). Later apps enabled 'telecare' techniques such as remote doctor-patient
consultations and even home monitoring for chronically sick patients.
eHealth
A new medium for sharing health and sickness experiences was created in the 1990s
with the advent of the World Wide Web: the World Wide Web. Many millions of individuals
visit health information websites like healthline.com each month, and social media sites like
Facebook and Twitter have become significant places for people to share their health
experiences and knowledge (Marent & Henwood, 2021). Researchers in eHealth has
studied how people utilize the internet to find and exchange health-related information and
services (World Health Organization, 2018). Early research in this area examined the
difficulties different social groups had in accessing health information and highlighted the
resources and competencies required to navigate, evaluate and negotiate various
knowledge sources and types and avoid the reproduction of health inequalities through
digital inequalities.
mHealth
An emerging concept in health care known as mHealth utilizes mobile technology
such as sensors, geolocation devices, smart clothing and smartphone apps to improve
patient care. Most of these gadgets may be worn on the body and are linked to other digital
devices and media, allowing them to be instantly accessed from anywhere. As a result of
such features, these technologies can keep track of people's health and well-being when
they're on the go (Labrique et al., 2018). Self-care aids like fitness trackers and smartphone
applications help people manage chronic illnesses like diabetes or HIV/AIDS by keeping a
record of their daily activities. Biomedical data gathering has been made simpler by mHealth
technology, prompting some to argue that self-tracking is becoming increasingly
commonplace.
The Use of Computers in Medicine
Algorithms that can filter, sort, and analyze data and automate thinking have been
hailed as major forces in the next medical revolution. Predictive analytics and machine
learning are required to create and utilize large health data sets in genomic biobanks and
reproductive medicine (Labrique et al.,2016).
The promissory discourse of digital health
Medical professionals predict a medical 'Gutenberg moment,' in which new digital
health practices will lead to a revolution. In the wake of the economic crisis, an ageing
population, and an increase in the prevalence of chronic illnesses, policymakers across
industrialized nations are recommending digital health technology to address the complex
problems confronting healthcare systems (Labrique et al., 2016). To further understand how
digital health and new initiatives in technology development acquire traction via promissory
discourses, scholars have turned to the sociology of expectancies' literature. The terms
telemedicine, eHealth, mHealth, and algorithmic medicine are often used in government
health and digital policies and related research and innovation initiatives.
Research question
1. Will smart cities offer better use of space, more effective civic services, less
traffic congestion and cleaner air leading to enhanced quality of life?
2. Will smart cities provide more economical and career opportunities as well as
promote strong community links?
3. What will be the long term benefits of developing smart cities in future, and
will environmental sustainability be affected?
Conclusion
Conclusively, the development of smart cities has brought with it a lot of
advantages.
The social, economic and health aspects of places that utilize technology
have improved tremendously. There has been the development of easier transport,
efficient health care and education and even societal growth. The smart cities in
Germany, the Netherlands, Singapore and even China have proven that the future
concerning smart cities is bright. Additionally, the developed healthcare systems
such as mHealth and eHealth have confirmed that human-computer interactions
bring positive changes in smart cities.
References
Al-Smadi, A.M., Alsmadi, M.K., Baareh, A., Almarashdeh, I., Abouelmagd, H. and Ahmed,
O.S.S., 2019. Emergent situations for smart cities: a survey. International Journal of
Electrical & Computer Engineering (2088-8708), 9(6).
ALTIN, M.A., 2018. CHAPTER SIX FUTURE OF HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION AND
SMART HOMES. Contemporary Issues in Housing Design, p.110.
ANGELIDOU, M., 2018. Smart city policies: A spatial approach, 2014. goo. gl/9EKbnA.
Acesso em, 4.
Browne, N.J., 2020. Regarding Smart Cities in China, the North and Emerging Economies—
One Size Does Not Fit All. Smart Cities, 3(2), pp.186-201.
Chau, K.Y., Lam, M.H.S., Cheung, M.L., Tso, E.K.H., Flint, S.W., Broom, D.R., Tse, G. and
Lee, K.Y., 2019. Smart technology for healthcare: Exploring the antecedents of adoption
intention of healthcare wearable technology. Health psychology research, 7(1).
HaiXia, Z., 2019. Evaluation of green smart cities in china based on entropy weight-cloud
model. Journal of System Simulation, 31(1), p.136.
Hu, R., 2019. The state of smart cities in China: The case of Shenzhen. Energies, 12(22),
p.4375.
JIANG, X. and YARIME, M., 2021. The Effects of Smart-city Related Public-Private
Partnership Contracts on Innovation and the Performance of Smart Cities in China.
Jin, D., Adams, H., Cocco, A.M., Martin, W.G. and Palmer, S., 2020. Smartphones and
wearable technology: benefits and concerns in cardiology. Medical Journal of
Australia, 212(2), pp.54-56.
Labrique, A.B., Wadhwani, C., Williams, K.A., Lamptey, P., Hesp, C., Luk, R. and Aerts, A.,
2018. Best practices in scaling digital health in low and middle income
countries. Globalization and health, 14(1), pp.1-8.
Lee, J., Kim, D., Ryoo, H., & Shin, B. (2016). Sustainable wearables: Wearable technology
for enhancing the quality of human life. Sustainability, 8(5),
466. https://doi.org/10.3390/su8050466
Lee, S. K., Kwon, H. R., Cho, H., Kim, J., & Lee, D. (2016). International case studies of
smart cities: Singapore, Republic of Singapore. https://doi.org/10.18235/0000409
Loizides, F., Winckler, M., Chatterjee, U., Abdelnour-Nocera, J. and Parmaxi, A.,
2020. Human Computer Interaction and Emerging Technologies: Workshop Proceedings
from the INTERACT 2019 Workshops (p. 378). Cardiff University Press.
Marent, B. and Henwood, F., 2021. Digital health. Routledge international handbook of
critical issues in health and illness. Routledge.
McKenna, H.P., 2020. Human-smart environment interactions in smart cities: Exploring
dimensionalities of smartness. Future Internet, 12(5), p.79.
Musa, WeSam, "The Impact of Smart City Initiatives on Cities’ Local Economic Development" (2017).
Master's meses. 501. https://scholars.fhsu.edu/theses/501
Oughton, E.J., Frias, Z., van der Gaast, S. and van der Berg, R., 2019. Assessing the
capacity, coverage and cost of 5G infrastructure strategies: Analysis of the
Netherlands. Telematics and Informatics, 37, pp.50-69.
Patel, Y. and Doshi, N., 2019. Social implications of smart cities. Procedia Computer
Science, 155, pp.692-697.
Perboli, G., & Rosano, M. (2020). A taxonomic analysis of smart city projects in North
America and Europe. Sustainability, 12(18), 7813.
Qin, B. and Qi, S., 2021. Digital transformation of urban governance in China: The
emergence and evolution of smart cities. Digital Law Journal, 2(1), pp.29-47.
Riva Sanseverino, E., Riva Sanseverino, R. and Anello, E., 2018. A cross-reading approach
to smart city: A european perspective of chinese smart cities. Smart Cities, 1(1), pp.26-52.
Sancino, A. and Hudson, L., 2020. Leadership in, of, and for smart cities–case studies from
Europe, America, and Australia. Public Management Review, 22(5), pp.701-725.
Schuilenburg, M. and Peeters, R., 2018. Smart cities and the architecture of security:
pastoral power and the scripted design of public space. City, Territory and Architecture, 5(1),
pp.1-9.
Shi, H., Tsai, S.B., Lin, X. and Zhang, T., 2018. How to Evaluate Smart Cities’ Construction?
A Comparison of Chinese Smart City Evaluation Methods Based on
PSF. Sustainability, 10(1), p.37.
Späth, P., Hawxwell, T., John, R., Li, S., Löffler, E., Riener, V. and Utkarsh, S., 2017. Smart-
eco cities in Germany: trends and city profiles. University of Exeter (SMART-ECO Project),
Exeter.
Sustainable urban governance networks: Data-driven planning technologies and smart city
software systems. (2020). Geopolitics, History, and International Relations, 12(2),
9. https://doi.org/10.22381/ghir12220201
Syahid, C.N., Lissandhi, A.N., Novianti, K. and Reksa, A.F.A., 2017. Sustainable Cities in the
Netherlands: Urban Green Spaces Management in Rotterdam. Journal of Indonesian Social
Sciences and Humanities, 7(2), pp.157-167.
Varró, K. and Bunders, D.J., 2020. Bringing back the national to the study of globally
circulating policy ideas:‘Actually existing smart urbanism’in Hungary and the
Netherlands. European Urban and Regional Studies, 27(3), pp.209-226.
Wang, A., Lin, W., Liu, B., Wang, H. and Xu, H., 2021. Does Smart City Construction
Improve the Green Utilization Efficiency of Urban Land?. Land, 10(6), p.657.
World Health Organization, 2018. Classification of digital health interventions v1. 0: a shared
language to describe the uses of digital technology for health (No. WHO/RHR/18.06). World
Health Organization.
Wu, S.M., Chen, T.C., Wu, Y.J. and Lytras, M., 2018. Smart cities in Taiwan: A perspective
on big data applications. Sustainability, 10(1), p.106.
