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City representatives reveal their smart city visions in Barcelona
Many of Great Britain’s foremost cities and regions joined Connected Places Catapult at the Smart City Expo World Congress to showcase their latest thinking and digital offerings.
Here is a snapshot of some of the people spotted at the UK Pavilion, and what they had to say about their smart city efforts, and the convening power of the Catapult.
Sherelle Fairweather, Digital Strategy Lead, Manchester City Council:
“One of the solutions we're promoting is digital asset mapping, and we approach it from an inclusive growth perspective. If we want to grow and compete with other cities, we have to focus on that inclusive angle; on people and skills and who is living in our city – and asking how does technology support them.
“We want to make sure this isn’t just about technology for technology’s sake; we really want to make sure a place is benefited by the technology and connectivity.
“It's been really positive working with the Catapult and showcasing Manchester to the world. One of the main strengths that the UK has in the global smart cities market is connectivity in terms of partnerships.”
Gurpreet Muctor, Chief Data Technology Officer, Westminster City Council:
“We are looking at the Internet of Things – connecting physical assets to a digital realm – to move from a reactive service model where something breaks and someone goes to fix it, to dig when something might need maintenance.
“The other is AI and how that could help productivity and engagement with systems, and the implications that has for communities.
“A connected place is more than just the physical assets that sit there; it's about the environment in which those physical assets integrate. It is about people as well, and how they are connected within that ecosystem of a connected place. Ultimately our view of a connected place is an ecosystem which is diverse, is thriving, and which really takes a balanced view of the environment.”
Liz St Louis, Director of Smart Cities, Sunderland City Council:
“Our smart city story is how we use digital infrastructure and a whole range of digital and data solutions to make Sunderland a great place to live, work and play. It's about driving economic prosperity and social good.
“We have a huge Sunderland free Wi-Fi zone, and over 5400 properties with assistive technologies in them helping to help keep elderly and vulnerable people safe and well. We've also been doing a lot of work supporting autonomous logistic deliveries into Nissan and from January, we will be running autonomous passenger shuttles on the Sunderland roads.
“It is absolutely fabulous having the UK Pavilion; and being able to interact with other UK cities. We are sharing our story, but very much learning from others too.”
Simon Warburton, Executive Director of Transport, West Yorkshire Combined Authority:
“We are currently developing a light rail system for West Yorkshire, and that gives us the opportunity to plan the way that people travel around our city region very differently. It gives us access to huge new areas of data, and we also want to understand how can we operate that system in the most energy sensitive way.
“There are huge opportunities for us to learn from what's going on in other cities. But it is also really importantly to think about how we can use our growing tech sectors we have locally within West Yorkshire and to partner with some of the larger smart city players here in Barcelona, so that we can generate real social value and real local economic growth within the sector.”
Read more about Connected Places Catapult at Smart City Expo World Congress.
