Are you smart enough to live in a smart city

The entire nation is excited about smart cities. While the government is churning out policies to achieve the same, developers are doing their bit by building ‘smart homes’. What about ‘us’? What about the people who would be living in these mart homes and cities? Are we smart enough?

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As per a recent survey conducted at the CREDAI Conclave, it was revealed that about 76 per cent of real estate companies plan to launch smart homes in the next 12 months. The Indian government itself has been actively taking initiatives towards this mission. Recently, Singapore, Barcelona and other foreign countries have extended their full support to India in its mission to create 100 smart cities.

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However, are we, as citizens of India, ready for smart cities? Are we smart enough for a smart city? “A completely ‘smart’ city would not become a reality until we have smart citizens,” exclaimed Dr Joan Clos, executive director, UN Habitat.

Building smart cities does not involve the construction of smart homes alone. It involves smart usage of energy, smart integration, smart mobility, smart public services, smart waste management etc.

“in India, giving priority to the pedestrians, is not the norm. Vehicles have more road space. In order to achieve smart mobility, we need to prioritise walk-ability and pedestrian connectivity. In countries like Hong Kong, 90 per cent of the population travels by public transport,” says Arun Govada, associate director, UDP International.

Similar concerns were raised by the Mayor of Patiala, Amitinder Singh Bazaz. “We have still not achieved a fool-proof system to manage our solid waste. Ours is a country where people still dump garbage on the roads. Until there is a change in the mentality of the people, there is no point in just building smart homes.”

Thus, while real estate seems to be warming itself to the concept of smart living, there is still a long way to go before smart homes become a norm. Firstly, smart living and smart thinking by the people needs to become a norm. Everything else will then follow.

Source: http://content.magicbricks.com/industry-news/are-you-smart-enough-to-live-in-a-smart-city/79959.html