Key Smart City Challenges You Must Look Out For

As we all know a smart city seems to look so flowery and exciting, but we cannot ignore the fact that every project has its own set of challenges. A smart city not only succeeds due to its efficient planning and seamless execution but also the team's appetite to take risks and face challenges as they come. Below are some often faced challenges while you're in the process of developing/redeveloping a smart city. 

1.   Budgets/Design cost: Fundraising and then cost optimization has always been a matter of concern while you plan to build a smart city. For each and every inch you intend to develop or redevelop you need raw materials, labour and artists to work hand in hand. To hire them you need adequate funds. Hence, cost is a critical factor while considering to develop a smart city. Costs can be largely divided into Operational cost and Design Cost. Design cost is a one-time cost incurred. On the other hand, operational cost is the cost required to maintain a smart city which is an on-going expense. Therefore, ensuring a small operational cost will help the city run for longer and with lesser burden on the city’s budgets.
2.   Over all a time consuming project: Planning of a smart city involves various decision makers, stakeholders and states which is a time eating job. You need to sit with each stakeholder and start planning the layout with a phase wise implementation charter plan. There will be added challenges which arise while you are sitting and planning a smart city layout on paper and while you actually implement it. Hence, a buffer time for unforeseen challenges should also be calculated for. You primarily need the support of the governments in that locality to ensure a smoother work process. You also need to put a responsible and smart team in place with efficient and experienced leaders to take the project to success. The team must consist of young dynamic personnel who don’t take a back step when few additional challenges come their way, rather have the appetite to face them with all might. More so the current inhabitants of the city have to be taken into confidence with the smart city plan. Showing them a brighter future along with sustainability will help you gain their cooperation.
3.   Operational efficiency with responsibility towards nature: Every smart city today aims to achieve operational efficiency as it can boost sustainability of the city as well as reduce operational costs. But, these laurels come with a drawback of higher carbon emission which devastates our nature. Cutting down over all city carbon emission and encouraging adequate waste management techniques can help make the city more sustainable and efficient. A subtle move towards green energy is trending and hence city’s must enhance use of such green energy systems to maintain responsibility towards nature.
4.   City grows, inhabitants grow: Once a smart city is identified and redeveloped you can expect more and more people footfalls. Either they come to the city to settle down in search of higher standard of living or they come to visit it. Irrespective, you can expect the population to increase 5 fold compared to before once the city turns into a smart city. The smart city plan should encompass future population growth challenges like space, facilities, etc to maintain the sustainability of a smart city.
5.   Disaster flexibility: To build a smart city you obviously make some more space for humans and you tend to encroach natural habitat regions. Here, the city becomes vulnerable to disasters. Disasters can be natural or manmade. Natural disasters can lead to various system and technological failures. A smart city hence has to have a well chalked down plan for disaster management. They need to ensure that they quickly recover from such situations in minimum time and cost to maintain the efficiency of a smart city. The operational cost tends to spike up with such unforeseen natural disasters hitting a smart city.
6.   Big Data and internet security: Smart cities are possible due to many smart components put together like Internet of Things, High network connectivity, use of big data for solutions to challenges. These systems gather huge/heavy data from every look and corner and store them for future reference. Hence, security of this data becomes a highly challengeable job while you build a smart city. You need to have internet security rules and regulation charters in place to ensure cybercrime is prohibited.
7.   Public Safety: With added population in the city, you have many people to satisfy in terms of transport facilities, housing facilities, Open spaces like parks and gardens, etc. Safety of these inhabitants can be attained by strict public laws related to public crime, CCTV camera’s installed at critical centers, etc. This is of paramount importance which is bound to escalate design and operational costs of the smart city plan.

Recognizing and resolving the challenges for smart cities is not a one man army approach but a collaborative one. Not only governments but also all stakeholders including the team, IT specialists, private organizations, and citizens should come together to work for a common objective - Smart City Victory. By registering on Tendersontime a user can get instant access to tender details of upcoming smart city projects globally under specific fields like Medical, Oil and Gas, Energy, Waste management, Software, Telecom, etc. This information is made available to you from various online tender bulletins, auction sites, bidding websites, e procurement tenders sites, tender website and e procurement tenders list.