- A survey carried out by Deloitte and commissioned by NEC interviewed government representatives – at the municipal, state and federal levels -, industry and universities, with the aim of identifying the issues in which municipalities most need to evolve;
- Based on the interviews and research that make up the material, recommendations were also included for making more modern and structured cities viable.
The fact that more than half of the world's population currently lives in urban areas means that large cities are swollen and, consequently, face enormous challenges in meeting the needs of their inhabitants. When looking at future perspectives, it is possible to find data indicating that, by 2050, this index will reach 68%, when 2.5 billion additional people will populate the metropolises. In Brazil, for example, 84% of the 210 million inhabitants currently live in urban areas. Bearing in mind that they are complex organizations, linked to actions by public and private initiatives, municipalities increasingly need to rely on technological resources in order to try to solve problems in the most different areas, such as mobility, energy, sanitation and, above all, security.
With an analytical look at the municipalities that have already introduced the various technology tools into their routines, the Deloitte, the organization with the most diverse professional services portfolio in the world, carried out a study, at the request of the NEC, in order to make an X-ray of this segment: the Smart Cities (Smart Cities). The material entitled “Insights on Smart Cities in Brazil for policy makers and public managers | Leveraging technologies for sustainable development” heard professionals from the public sector - from the federal, state and municipal spheres -, from industry, such as manufacturers, suppliers, service providers and associations, in addition to academics, to understand what are the pains and needs within the scope of Brazilian cities and how they can evolve to be more modern and efficient.
Credit: NEC website
The study was also based on documentary research, a source that brought a lot of information about successful practices in the country and abroad. The success stories of urban centers, such as the municipalities of Tigre and Buenos Aires, in Argentina, La Reina (district of Santiago), in Chile, and Santander, in Spain, show that it is possible to achieve consistent improvement in areas in which the respective administrations faced major challenges. The Argentine city of Tigre, for example, had problems with the safety of the population and, therefore, implemented a security system, composed of more than 2 thousand cameras strategically installed in the streets, Artificial Intelligence systems, Behavior Detection and Facial Recognition , all of this interconnected in the Command and Control Center. Since the beginning of the project, which was implemented by NEC, as an integrator, in 2011, it has been possible to reduce the rate of vehicle thefts by around 80% and tourism in the area has grown by 20%.
“The security of a smart city is achieved with technology, neighborhood integration, social inclusion, urban solutions, shared spaces and occupation of public areas, generating belonging to the place. By adopting several innovative solutions, such as data analysis, it is possible to provide more harmonious environments, facilitating clearer decision-making on urban challenges. Initiatives like this can only be elaborated with a broader view, within a planning cycle with diagnosis and analysis, goals and projects at all scales of the city”, points out Alberto Boaventura, Senior Manager for Technology, Media and Telecommunications at Deloitte.
In La Reina, on the other hand, replacing the public lighting infrastructure with LED technology lamps and monitoring the lamps in real time improved energy efficiency in the neighborhood and also the perception of safety, by making the place better lit.
Security is also an important point in the study, since it is the most recurrent theme mentioned among Latin American cities. The provision of health services comes next among the concerns of Latinos, as seen in the table below:
The survey carried out by Deloitte brings content subdivided into six domains, namely Transport and Mobility, Industry and HR, Quality of life (public safety, health, management of urban spaces and pollution control), Resources and Energy, Governance and Construction and Infrastructure. In view of this context, a chapter was added exclusively dedicated to the barriers to the implementation of Smart Cities, grouped according to the nature of each one of them, such as: political-administrative order; knowledge and training; economical; legal or technological. With regard to political-administrative barriers, for example, respondents highlighted the lack of planning and focus that exists in Brazil. The challenge in this regard, according to the testimonies, is to dissociate it from the four-year electoral cycle, putting into practice a long-term vision, which knows where one wants to go and contains an action plan with steps to be taken.
“The content brings recommendations for prioritizing public policies, focused on policies that favor the development of ICT applications (information and communication technology) and associated investments. Among the suggested priorities are: coordination of policies in all spheres of public power; long-term plans; standardization of a data access and unification model; standardization in digital public management; standardized architecture; creation of development and innovation; feasibility of connectivity infrastructure; promotion and expansion of public-private partnerships (PPPs); Exclusive public concession model for the exploitation of Smart City services; access to funding for Smart City projects and, finally, Public Safety as a great promoter of social well-being”, says Marcia Ogawa, Technology, Media and Telecommunications Leading Partner at Deloitte.
When the issue is the most enabling technologies in the context of existing Smart Cities, it is possible to highlight the Internet of Things (IoT), Management Platforms for Smart Cities, big data, Analytics and Artificial Intelligence, Biometric Identification, Blockchain, connectivity and 5G; Virtual reality, Digital Twin and Metaverse, each in their respective stage of maturity. The chapter dedicated to technologies such as IoT, Big Data, Analytics, AI, Blockchain and 5G, goes deeper into the use of these tools in the context of cities.
“As one of the leading players in this market, acting in the supply of solutions and project integration, NEC commissioned this study with the objective of bringing to light the needs that still exist in our country and that, in many times, can be improved with the use of technology. This study can serve as a beacon to show us the way to go in structuring cities that are more modern, fair and prepared to meet the needs of citizens with the help of tools that already exist and are bringing excellent results around the world”, explain José Renato de Mello Gonçalves, president of NEC in Brazil.
To check out the study in full, access the link, by filling out the form:
https://docs.nec.com.br/insights-sobre-cidades-inteligentes-completo
