Standards key in drive to create smart cities

An aerial view of Nairobi City on August 15, 2017. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • According to the United Nations, urban areas are also expected to house 60 per cent of people globally and one in every three people will live in cities.
  • Closer home, in 1990, the Nairobi population was estimated at 1.4 million.
  • Nairobi city was planned for a small population, but with rural-urban migration, the area is now home to over 4 million people.

The world is projected to have 41 megacities with more than 10 inhabitants each by 2030. According to the United Nations, urban areas are also expected to house 60 per cent of people globally and one in every three people will live in cities.

In 2016, an estimated 54.5 per cent of the world’s population lived in urban settlements. The United Nations Development Programme says more than half of the world’s population now live in urban areas. By 2050, that figure will have risen to 6.5 billion people — two-thirds of all humanity.

Closer home, in 1990, the Nairobi population was estimated at 1.4 million. This has risen to over 4 million, and by 2030, there will be 14.3 million people residing in the city.

Every day, the world’s population grows by nearly 250,000. Kenya is not an exception and the country cannot survive the pressure of population amid meagre resources unless the authorities plan our cities sustainably.

SMART CITIES

With such exponential population growth, there is need to review our urban planning to ensure we have sustainable smart cities that have adequate amenities such as water, electricity, transport and waste management systems. Sustainable development cannot be achieved without significantly transforming the way we build and manage our urban spaces.

Each year, on October 14, members of the International Electrotechnical Commission, the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and the International Telecommunication Union celebrate World Standards Day. This is a way of paying tribute to the collaborative efforts of the thousands of experts worldwide who develop the voluntary technical agreements that are published as international standards.

This year’s theme “Standards make cities smarter” is opportune since most cities, Nairobi included, are facing a similar challenge — each one trying to turn into a smart city — which is a complex process.

CHALLENGES

Every city faces its own challenges and requires its own mix of solutions. However, there is one common denominator that simplifies this task. International standards support the development of tailor-made solutions that can be adapted to particular circumstances of a given city.

They contain expert knowledge and best practices, and are essential enablers in ensuring quality and performance of products and services. In addition, they drive compatibility between technologies and help users to compare and choose the best solution available.

International standards such as ISO make things work safely and smoothly together at every level in cities.

They provide the foundation for access to electricity and all the many devices and systems that use this form of energy and contain electronics.

SECURITY

They support the information and communication technologies that enable data collection, exchange and analysis, and information security.

Last but not least, they provide important guidance for all aspects of city life, including energy-efficient buildings, intelligent transportation and improved waste management, building sustainable communities and much more.

According to ISO, cities need to make better use of resources and become more efficient. Policies, regulation, citizen involvement and standards are all key components needed to build a viable smart city. While all these are important in the path towards smarter cities, standardisation will play a key role in ensuring consistent outcomes of clean and safer cities.

For instance, in today’s cities, much of the infrastructure is installed by diverse suppliers and maintained by different agencies who sometimes work in isolation.

To connect them both physically and virtually, standardised interfaces need to be put in place. This is where standards organisations and others will have an important role to play.

COMPATIBILITY

For city planners, utilities, service and technology providers, standards are essential enablers, facilitating an expected performance and quality level, consistent reproducible outcomes as well as compatibility between technologies.

A perfect example is how a road would be constructed and finished and within two months, other suppliers would be found excavating it to instal other infrastructure such as underground cables, water pipes and sewer systems and in the process messing up the whole environment and, at the same time, inconveniencing the users.

Nairobi city was planned for a small population, but with rural-urban migration, the area is now home to over 4 million people. In fact, the city is using a master plan developed in 1973, which legally expired in 2003. A master plan is usually valid for 20 to 30 years, which means that structures constructed in Nairobi since 2003 may technically be classified as illegal.

China is already undertaking pilot smart city projects using the standards developed by ISO TC 268.

With standards, we can make our cities smarter, step by step.

 

The author is the managing director of the Kenya Bureau of Standards. [email protected]