IDB launches a practical guide for smart city management

New IDB guide has more than 50 examples of cities around the globe that have implemented intelligent solutions 

Cities in Latin America and the Caribbean had have an accelerated and unplanned growth which has generated a series of challenges that can’t be fixed in a traditional way: insecurity, vulnerability to climate change and natural disasters, growth in energy consumption, pollution, water and waste management, the need for a better citizens participation, and more effectiveness in public services, amongst others.  

Also, the current fiscal limitations of the region’s governments – especially at subnational levels – require of more efficient systems that allow reducing public expenditure and increase fiscal income.Our cities should migrate towards a sustainable model of Smart City. 

From conversations with mayors, businessmen, planners and their teams, it has become clear that there is an absence of information about smart cities, which are their benefits and how to achieve this change in the region. To solve this knowledge gap, a group of journalists and specialists of the Inter-American Development Bank have developed a practical guide called “The Road Towards Smart Cities: Migrating from Traditional City Management to the Smart City.” 

The IDB understands that a Smart City is one which puts people at the center of development, incorporates information technology and communication in urban management, and uses these elements as tools to stimulate the creation of an efficient government that includes processes of collaborative planning and citizen participation. “By promoting an integrated and sustainable development, cities will transform into innovative, competitive, attractive and competitive places”, said Mauricio Bouskela, IDB Housing and Urban Development Senior Specialist. 

Since 2011, the IDB has assisted cities in Latin America and the Caribbean with the development of intelligent management studies with the help of strategic alliances and firms such as Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements (KRIHS), Moon Engineering (Korea), Cisco, Microsoft, Everis, and IDOM, amongst others. 

Today these studies have advanced in Guadalajara, Mexico (Digital Creative City), and in various intermediate cities in the region that participate in the Emerging and Sustainable Cities Program (ESC) like: Goiânia, Vitória, João Pessoa, Florianópolis y Palmas (Brazil); Montego Bay (Jamaica); Barranquilla, Valledupar and Villavicencio (Colombia), Montevideo (Uruguay), Valdivia (Chile) and Nassau (Bahamas). The main action areas of these projects are citizen security, mobility, emergencies and natural disasters management, connectivity, citizen participation, and integrated operation and control centers. 

This guide has more than 50 examples of cities that have implemented intelligent solutions, and proposes a roadmap for those that want to adopt this model. Among the case studies are the cities of Buenos Aires (Argentina), Bogota y Medellin (Colombia), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Chihuahua (Mexico) and Nassau (Bahamas).