When we think about the United Nations’ goal of Net Zero by 2050, we think of solar panels. Maybe because so many homes use this renewable energy solution to get off the grid to avoid the disruptive nightmare that is rolling blackouts.
Granted, there was a lengthy period when there weren’t regular power interruptions. This doesn’t mean there is uninterrupted electricity. We may not have scheduled rolling blackouts, or the more politically-correct terms such as load-shedding or load-reduction, but there still are power outages.
A magic wand to decrease load-shedding isn’t sustainable. The simple fact is that there isn’t enough energy to go around, and aging infrastructure means things break.
Yet, using the sun alone as a power source doesn’t really get us closer to the UN’s goals. We are still 70% reliant on fossil fuels for electricity. The Climate Action Tracker shows that, as of November 2023, the latest information I can find, South Africa’s progress is “insufficient”.
Smart cities reduce carbon emissions because they use power in a smarter way.
To get to the point where we are serious about reaching carbon-neutral, we need to think beyond the obvious. The current solar battery storage technology is, for example, one way of expanding our contribution to a better environment, but that’s only if we recycle them responsibly.
We don’t think big enough; we aren’t looking at things holistically.
Imagine zooming out from a rooftop to an entire city that is smart. One in which transport not only runs, but runs on time. A city where traffic lights are dynamic. They can automatically be changed from the needs of drivers in rush hour, to enabling a more linear direction of traffic when it’s Sunday afternoon.
Imagine digital government services, such as online access (regardless of where you are) to a proper data base of commonly needed forms. Application forms for a passport, or a centralised application portal to book a driving test, an appointment with your ward councillor, to log a burst water pipe, or any other interaction with a government entity.
While there are varying degrees of all of these aspirational solutions in place in a variety of geographical locations around the country, there is no singular city, never mind municipality, region, or province, that has been able to – yet – pull all of this together.
And the benefits are immense. Smart cities reduce carbon emissions because they use power in a smarter way. They also connect citizens to government departments, which can be done through proper connectivity at community centres and libraries, for example.
We already have technology such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and robotics coming out of universities, and people are being skilled to use these tools.
Graduates who have qualified in these innovative aspects of implementing cutting-edge solutions in real world applications can assist in the practical aspects of smart cities.
The internet of things (IOT) can be used to automatically log a fault alert when a traffic light goes down or there’s a burst water pipe. Better yet, to inform the powers that be when a substation blows up, again.
This way, citizens don’t have to sit on hold in a city call centre queue for an age just to report it, get a reference number, and then ask their ward councillor to escalate it. Inevitably, the fault will still have to be traced, and IOT can eliminate all of that.
If machines spoke to each other, traffic could be rerouted through digital signboards to avoid the congestion caused by a lack of traffic lights (and people’s inability to understand how a four-way stop street works).
Overall, the benefits of smart cities are innumerable. Market Scoop, which collates this sort of information, notes there’s an economic benefit to this sub-sector of the technology industry. Energy-efficiency can be enhanced by 30% over 20 years. Water loss will be reduced because there will be immediate action on burst water pipes.
And we have those skills here, so we can reap all the advantages, we just need more of them. Let’s train a nation of highly-skilled youngsters to ensure we have world-class smart cities.
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