Smart cities also use Internet of Things (IoT) technology to prioritise public safety. For example, smart video and audio surveillance systems, which combine audio and video technology with AI and analytics,⁴ can help identify accidents and emergency situations as they happen and trigger calls for emergency service deployment.

Not only that, but tech-powered cities can also predict, prepare for, and respond to natural disasters, identify challenging road conditions, and monitor electrical problems and water pipeline leaks in real time, which all significantly contribute to a city’s risk reduction efforts.⁵

In the coming years, future cities will leverage more cutting-edge technology, such as the use of smart grids, blockchain-based technology, AR-powered public service information, and IoT observability as a service to address the growing need for sustainability and safety.⁶ 

Smart cities will see many benefits that their citizens and governments will enjoy:⁷

Safer communities
Smart cities make use of licence plate recognition, gunshot detectors, and next-generation emergency calls to help law enforcement promote a safer community for all.

Data-driven decision-making
By using Internet-connected sensors, smart cities will have access to large volumes of information that they can analyse, get insights from, and use to make decisions that aim to enhance citizens’ lives, such as forecasting and planning for population growth and monitoring and staffing law enforcement personnel at high-risk areas. 

Enhanced citizen and government engagement
One of the reasons people find smart cities convenient is their ability to provide user-friendly digital services, including self-service portals and online accounts.

Reduced environmental footprint
Smart cities leverage technology such as air quality sensors and energy-efficient buildings to reduce their environmental impact.

Improved transportation
With intelligent transportation systems, including smart traffic lights, parking management, and public transit tracking services, citizens will have more efficient and optimised travel experiences.

Smart cities pave the way for sustainability by properly directing labour and resources through sensor-powered systems. For instance, smart garbage collection processes that involve bins with sensors can enable workers to determine which bins are full and which ones are empty, allowing them to work faster and smarter.⁸ This is one example out of many that shows how intelligent cities can reduce manual work by improving processes and systems.

As cities evolve through new technologies, they will also be able to attract new businesses that will lead to economic growth. Smart cities are able to provide online services to its citizens, including efficient business permit processing and tax filing. New businesses can also encourage patronage from locals and tourists alike.

To become a smart city and enjoy its many benefits, cities must invest in a piece of technology that can power sensors and devices and enable real-time data processing — and that technology is called 5G. 

5G enables cities to leverage technological advancements and tools to help them become truly intelligent and improve their convenience and safety levels:

IoT
5G can support IoT use cases in smart cities, including smart parking to water quality monitoring,⁹ that need high-speed communications.

Artificial intelligence (AI)
With AI, smart cities can gather and process large amounts of data from IoT devices and systems. This technology can be used to help predict trends, such as in traffic management and security systems, that can make smart cities operate efficiently.¹⁰

Digital twins
By digitally modelling individual or city-wide systems with mathematical models and AI technologies, cities optimise planning and decision-making processes through simulations and predictive analyses.¹¹

Edge computing
By processing data at the edge of a network, edge computing allows smart cities to have greater network resilience, resilience, and flexibility.¹²

Cloud computing
By leveraging the power of the cloud, smart cities can securely store, process, and analyse vast amounts of data from their interconnected sensors and devices.¹³

To foster innovation and safety and meet smart cities’ ever-burgeoning connectivity and automation needs, cities must invest in fast and robust 5G services.

Build smart and secure cities with Singtel 5G and Paragon 

Singtel Paragon is an all-in-one orchestration platform that aggregates networks, edge compute, public cloud, and applications’ ecosystems to accelerate digital transformation. It enables smart cities and enterprises to tap into Singtel’s 5G network to activate network slices on demand, access a robust ecosystem of partner applications to offer unparalleled control and options, as well as deploy mission-critical applications on Singtel multi-access edge compute (MEC). MEC has a multitude of applications in smart cities, including reducing traffic fatalities, improving disease predictions, and enhancing threat protection on public digital infrastructure.¹⁴