By: Stephen Hilton
Source: BBC
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-28694686
Being a "smart city" is different for every city because everyone has their own definition to it. For some cities, being "smart" has to do with removing pollution or congestion and for others it is going greener. Some cities have been built with the idea of smart such as, Songdo in South Korea or the green city Masdar in the United Arab Emirates. The United Kingdom is eager in not only building smarter cities but becoming a world leader in technology. Last year, its government brought up a competition and the winner, Glasgow, won twenty-four million dollars to spend on "smart" technology. Glasgow has various social problems, one of them being the fact that they have the lowest life-expectancy rate compared to any other city in the UK. A majority of the money has been put in building an operation center. This center helps control crime rates and keeps them at a minimum. They have also invested in intelligent lighting that opens up when trouble is taking place. Glasgow is known to politically go their own way. Glasgow was not too well on opening up about their plans, but Bristol, a city not too far away from Glasgow, was happy to do so. Bristol won three million dollars in the competition and decided to focus it on the people and their experiences. They have been creating various apps that is advancing their smart technology. They also won the amazing title of European Green Capital of 2015. As said by their council, they are trying to make Bristol a "living lab".
Each city does whatever they can to be the best that they can be. They all have a different definition on being "smart". In the image above, one can see Bristol, a "smart" city in the making. During this modern time, all everyone wants are huge advancements. Everyone should be aware about this great topic and idea and take part in making our Earth "smarter".
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