Technology is providing new low-cost tools to strengthen communities and new ways for communities to express their voice and to hold governments to account, according to report by independent IT analyst firm, Ovum.
 
According to its report, ‘Is Your City Smart Enough?’ technology was an important enabler of a more sustainable approach to designing, building, and operating cities.


Smart city operators and city councils should consider providing services like British website Fixmystreet, which allows residents to report problems ranging from graffiti to drainage issues, and bad lighting to potholes, he said.


Fixmystreet is managed by MySociety.org, a project by charity organisation UK Citizens Online Democracy.

 


Mr Hodgkinson also cited the OpenAustralia Foundation's planningalerts.org.au project. People simply have to enter their street name, suburb, state and postcode to be given a list of recent development applications within 2km of the address.

 

The site utilises information from nearly 100 planning authorities based in the ACT, New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Queensland.

 

"The rise of cloud computing and social networking provides better tools to consciously stimulate the development of communities and social capital," he said.

 

The other three key recommendations in the Cisco-sponsored Ovum report are leadership, leverage and collaboration.

 

"Inspirational leadership is the ability to create and sell a vision for a more economically, socially and environmentally sustainable future," he said.

 

Such leadership could come from the smart city operator, local council or state government, while leverage was the art of reusing proven platforms and solutions.


Mr Hodgkinson said cloud computing technologies were one way to avoid reinventing the wheel or duplicating infrastructure.

 

"Strategically we're moving into a world of cloud computing, which is all about the sharing of commoditised and standardised services," he said.

 

Australia was lagging behind Asian neighbours because "we haven't been able to get our heads around the idea that we don't want data to be offshored".

 

"The federal government has not taken any leadership in terms of this agenda," Mr Hodgkinson said.