As the world becomes more populated, it’s also becoming more urbanized. Cities must keep pace with geospatial evolution and manage significant challenges to make life liveable and safe in their spaces. Technology plays a central role in their development and maintenance and in finding new ways of solving their unique problems. As more cities adopt technological solutions and become connected, the data they collect grows exponentially, and new exciting possibilities and risks emerge.
Smart city expert, architect, urban planner, and technologist Tom van Arman has offered his unique point of view at “Applied Secure Smart Cities” by the EC-Council. This is just a tiny portion of what we’ve learnt.
What are Smart Cities?
The world population has shifted from predominantly rural to primarily urbanized in only three centuries. According to the United Nations, as of 2020, 56.2% of the world population (approximately 4.4 billion people) live in urban areas. This number is expected to increase to 68% by 2050, with a 90% increase in Asia. In 2021, there were 28 mega cities (cities with more than 10 million people) worldwide. In 2025, more than 221 cities with more than 1 million people will exist in China alone.
Smart cities have harnessed the power of technology to tackle their challenges, recognizing that ‘We cannot solve 21st-century problems with 20th-century solutions‘ (Tom van Arman, cit.). This approach instills optimism, paving the way for innovative solutions to old urban issues.
These challenges include energy and infrastructure management, environment monitoring, bringing efficiency to the medical and health systems, transportation and manufacturing management, home and building automation, and large-scale development.
Solutions such as self-driving trains, boats, cars, drone deliveries, distributed electricity grids, biometric devices, geofencing, and other technologies are already being used worldwide to improve the quality of the environment and our lives.
However, the fundamental principle of a smart city is that its residents, the citizens, determine the kind of city they want to inhabit and are entrusted with the task of actively participating in these decisions. The local government, citizens, and technology form the three pillars of a smart city.
Examples of smart cities
The IMD Smart City Index 2024 ranked 142 cities worldwide, but this number constantly grows as city administrations evolve and adopt technology. Below are some of the “smartest” cities in the world.
Singapore (SG)
London (UK)
Toyota Woven City (JP)
What is Open Data?
Intelligent cities rely on the Internet of Everything (IoE), which comprises interconnected physical devices like sensors that gather and communicate data through the Internet to databases, computers, and applications.
Consider the sheer volume of real-time data collected in smart cities. It’s sourced from a wide array of devices, including appliances in smart homes, wearables like smartwatches and biometric devices, remote city cameras and other surveillance devices, the electric grid, smart supply chains, connected cars, and even precision farming. This comprehensive network ensures that everything in the smart city is interconnected.
Just think that 90% of the world’s data was created in the last two years. All this data amounts to 10,000 Exabytes, and only 3% is ready to use. Of this, only 0.5% is used for actual analysis.
Despite the wealth of data available, it’s a largely untapped resource in smart cities. This is due to a lack of support (insufficient resources for monitoring and maintaining data sets) and structure (most city data is in PDFs, Excel sheets, and Word documents). However, this untapped potential holds immense value and could be a game-changer for smart city development.
This is precisely why the concept of Open Data is so crucial in the context of smart cities. Open Data, which is electronically accessible by citizens without restriction and in a format that other computer applications can efficiently process, is a key principle of smart city development. It ensures everyone can access and utilize the data, making it a powerful tool for collective progress.
The value of Open Data
Cities need more money, time, and resources to address their many problems. At the same time, they gather an abundance of data. This data includes critical information on urban planning, administration processes, citizens’ health, traffic and mobility, commerce, social services, tourism, and finance. Allowing citizens and companies to access it brings undeniable benefits, such as:
- Collaboration: companies and the public can build new products and services.
- Transparency: open data helps citizens participate with governments in decision-making.
- Trust: Data can improve the relationship between the government and the people it serves.
- Insights: Data can provide actionable information to a broader group of stakeholders and the public.
Open Data Security and Its Challenges
These benefits come with two significant challenges: security and privacy.
SECURITY
Open data is a potential target for a variety of cyberattacks, including but not limited to:
- One of the most alarming cyberattacks is the so-called ‘Big Game Hunting,’ which involves data breaches and leaks from municipalities held for ransom. To put this into perspective, in 2019, a staggering 45% of US municipalities fell victim to this attack, resulting in a loss of 11.5 billion dollars.
- Cyberattacks on city infrastructure. Over the last few years, several attacks have disrupted public transportation and water distribution systems worldwide for political motives.
- Denial of Service attacks to disrupt the city functions and services to citizens.
Because public data is gathered mainly through IoT devices that are discoverable on the Internet and whose security is weaker than other devices, cyberattacks are more accessible to conduct in smart cities than on anyone else.
Another significant risk associated with open data security is its potential for misuse. This data can be used maliciously in the wrong hands, leading to harmful consequences for citizens. A stark example is the use of data for profiling and discrimination, a practice that can have far-reaching and detrimental effects on urban tissue.
PRIVACY
Privacy has been a trending topic of debate since cities started to adopt monitoring technologies in public areas, such as computer vision, sound sensors, mobile apps, 3D sensors, CCTV, and WiFi sniffers and beacons. These technologies were implemented to keep citizens safe. However, they identify them and can be very invasive of their privacy.
Smart cities must consider citizens’ concerns and respect their privacy while keeping them safe. This is why some intelligent city administrations in Europe, like Amsterdam, have adopted tools like the Invasiveness Matrix. This helps administrators determine the tools with a higher degree of benefit and the minimum invasiveness for their citizens.
The role of cybersecurity experts in solving smart city challenges
Cities around the world are grappling with increasing complexity. Municipalities require a wide range of digital solutions to enhance their socio-economic fabric and tackle environmental challenges. They aspire to be affordable, diverse, inclusive, safe, and ultimately a happy place for their citizens. However, as they strive to become smarter, they become more vulnerable. It is in our hands, as urban planners, policymakers, and technology professionals, to address this vulnerability and ensure the safety of our cities.
In this scenario, cybersecurity is central to smart cities’ infrastructure and concept. With cities storing massive amounts of citizen information, identity theft is on the rise, and so are attacks on cities’ infrastructure, networks, and confidential information.
The need for advanced cybersecurity measures, such as behavioural analytics, AI solutions, and improved encryption, are only some of the solutions that cities and administrations can benefit from in the short term. However, to make these projects last the test of time that’s not enough.
Will smart cities be the future?
Regardless of how cutting-edge the technology is, the success of intelligent cities hinges on citizen participation.
Google’s Sidewalk Labs project in Toronto is a stark illustration. The tech giant’s ambitious plan was to construct a new city from the ‘Internet-up,’ transforming a 12-acre area East of Toronto into a ‘sustainable mixed-use, mixed-income smart neighbourhood.’ Despite winning the tender, the project was derailed in 2022 when Toronto’s citizens expressed concerns about their privacy. More recently, a Quay 2.0 concept has been developed, emphasizing the creation of an urban environment where natural and manmade coexist harmoniously and housing is more affordable.
Another example is the Brainport Smart District in Bradevoort (NL), which in 2022 was on track to become “the smartest district” in the world. In October 2023, the project’s official website announced a change of plans, declaring that “The district will become less innovative, but there will be more affordable housing.”
At Negative PID, we advocate for smarter cities where technology can serve citizens and administrators alike. Citizen participation is not just a necessity but a key to unlocking the full potential of smart city projects. However, we also caution against overreliance on technology and data. Rather than having more of both, we should have just what we need done right, a balanced approach that ensures technology does not overshadow the human element.
One Response
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Thank you so much!