Efficiency, livability, integration, and sustainability are the primary characteristics of a smart city.

In the very near future, smart city technologies such as monitoring and sensor technologies, intelligent traffic systems, and energy management systems for buildings, will be deployed on every continent.

Even today, the smart city model is being embraced and adopted around the world, in both emerging and mature economies.

Functionality based on integrated services

By integrating a variety of services within a single operating center, the smart city concept offers maximum functionality to users in an efficient and economic manner. In a typical urban scenario, these services include:

• Public and private transportation systems and traffic management systems
• City, state, and national highways
• Power generation and distribution (gas, electricity, etc.)
• Water supply
• Hospital and medical emergency response organizations
• Fire and police departments
• Regional transportation authorities
• Large commercial and residential complexes
• Pollution control systems (including vehicle emissions)
• Court systems including traffic courts
• Border security

Smart city stakeholders:

• City administration departments (e.g., electricity, gas, water, health, transportation, urban development, etc.)
• City residents and visitors
• The core system integrating various systems into one central system
• Predictive analytics to estimate travel times, power, water, gas, etc., demand so that supply can be optimized and leakages eliminated
• Technology and system providers for intelligent traffic management, and automated fare collection in buses, trains, power, and gas distribution

An effective smart city model will feature:

• An account-based system offering both prepaid and postpaid accounts
• A customer mobility card similar to a Visa or MasterCard
• RFID tags to track fees, payments, taxes, etc.
• Access by web, phone, customer service center, or walk-in service center
• Case management and incident management capabilities
• Mobile apps for payment transactions, traffic, weather, and service notifications