Urbanization and information technologies

Increase and growth of the cities becomes one of the main global trends. Every year rates of an urbanization grow. By estimates of the UN, already in 2050g. from 70% to 85% of the population of the planet will live and work at the urbanized territories. The cities accumulate more and more economic and human resources, their value surely grows. Many megalopolises become engines of economy of the whole country. For example, such million-plus cities as Tokyo, Paris, Zurich and Oslo, make about a third of GDP of the countries^[1] today^[1].

At the same time with growth of the cities also the number of the integrated problems (deterioration in ecology, the shortage of natural resources, transport jams and street crime) increases. If not to undertake special measures, then intensively growing cities will be considered as the place of comfortable stay of the person more and more seldom. The urbanized space is perceived by inhabitants as an aggressive environment in which there is a place only for work and a certain minimum of the services which are generally concentrated to provide efficiency of the same professional activity. And tranquility, rest and comfort are associated either with resorts, or with rural areas, but anyway with points sparsely populated.

Today in the large urbanistic centers the set of material and human resources is concentrated. They also cause high competitiveness of the cities and their status. However to high-class specialists who are the engine of any economy, for work in the specific place of already insufficiently only one high salary. People want to live first of all in the harmonious, friendly and locating environment. The quality of life becomes keyword parameter.

Buildings

The average megalopolis is faced by a set of tasks today: street crime, road jams and even irrationally functioning buildings. According to IBM, city constructions consume about 42% of all electric power today, and a half of this energy is lost! Without exaggeration it is possible to tell that many city objects at this stage serve as "executioners" for the environment.

Certainly, it is simple to abolish or radically it is impossible to rebuild construction constructions - it is a city basis. However it is quite possible "to automate" the building, to implement to it information systems so that as much as possible to save the available resources and to limit emissions. For example, equipment of rooms of the building the system defining presence of the person will help to save energy due to heating and lighting. In 2003g. The European Union accepted Directive 2002/91/EU introducing requirements to energy efficiency of constructions. The European states set before themselves very ambitious goals, and already to 2020g. Norway, the Netherlands and Germany are going to build mainly so-called passive houses (heated at the expense of own resources). And France wants to create buildings which make energy. Do not lag behind the European states and the USA, already constructed at Yale University a construction which thanks to the architecture "adapts to the movement of the sun". As a result lighting in rooms of a construction is maximum, and temperature (thanks to special double-glazed windows) — comfortable. It should be noted that similar initiatives set as the purpose not only decrease in energy consumption, but also reduction of emissions of harmful substances in the atmosphere.

Power problem

"Smart power" it becomes frequent now the key direction with which formation of "the smart city" begins, and its inhabitants, in turn, begin to perceive changes properly. Rational use of energy resources became a keynote of modern production. The Smart Grid technologies connecting the electric generator literally with each socket and allowing to react flexibly to a consumer behavior are used more and more widely. In the USA, Canada, Japan, South Korea and the European Union countries large-scale projects on installation in households of "smart counters", "smart relays", thermostats controlling indoor temperature are already well under way.

Transport

It is no secret that the majority of megalopolises suffer from huge transport traffic jams. It is already proved: heavy jams bring not only temporary losses, but also economic. By estimates of IBM company, an izz of traffic jams the developed and developing states on average lose from 1% to 3% of GDP. Impossibility of planning of movements, air pollution by automobile exhausts, shabby transport infrastructure, the road accidents — these problems first of all need to be solved during creation of "the smart city".

Each megalopolis to posvoy is unique — as on architecture, geographical and climatic features, and on mentality and habits of inhabitants (in Amsterdam 50% of movements — on foot or by bicycle, and in Chicago 90% of movements — on the privately owned vehicle). But the concepts of optimization of network of traffic applied in different regions in many respects are similar. For example, for the last several decades practically in all cities transition with public to the individual transport was observed, at simultaneous continuous degradation of public. Today the management of the majority of the cities came to a conclusion that if nothing changes, the level of transport infrastructure will never conform to requirements imposed by the concept of Smart City. In other words, it is impossible to improve the existing situation, only increasing number of bands by the highway, building additional trunks, outcomes and parkings. Approach to the solution of a transport problem is necessary essentially new, intensive, but not extensive.

Implementation of the intelligent transport system (ITS — Intelligent Transport System) created in many respects due to information technologies can become a key to the solution of some tasks. Already today many large cities adopt ITS, however the received results strongly differ from each other. The number of road incidents was strongly reduced by Gdeto and hours-long traffic jams already became property of history, and kakoyto the megalopolis still chokes with exhaust gases.

In a general view the strategy of ITS can be described as "the smart car on the smart road". In the future, researchers believe, at competent implementation of systems citizens will spend on the way no more than 30 minutes. If to consider that today many daily spend 3 — 4 hours in traffic jams, it is really difficult to revaluate influence of the new transport systems on life of the megalopolis.

One of the most important conditions of successful work of ITS — integration of all available data in one system. Once you note that it, we mentioned above, the key requirement to all systems of "the smart city". Discrete solutions in case of Smart City are inefficient, force consists in integration. At the same time joint work should be carried out on all fronts: it is necessary to exchange data between different localities, to transfer the available information to other information services and t.p. The European Union encourages input of the new transport systems on condition that a system should be uniform for the whole Europe, but not individual and closed within the state. In the report "Development of the cities" developed by RA "Expert" it is said that creation of a uniform all-European intelligent transport system, according to forecasts of European Commission, will help to reduce death rate on roads to 1.7 times.

As we already noted, "transition" with public to the individual transport became the general trend for many megalopolises. However accents turned out so strong here that the majority of the cities today again think of revival of public transport. Stockholm achieved special success in it. Thanks to implementation of the special tax policies directed to reduction of number of privately owned vehicles, the capital of Sweden was freed from 18% of machines, the volume of harmful emissions was reduced by 14%. At the same time for simplification of use of public transport in Stockholm the integrated ticket sales system which connects all main types of transport was introduced. In general experts note that the system of flexible tariff plans, paid roads and a tax on personal vehicles really significantly motivates citizens to use public transport for movements on the city.

In that case, certainly, citizens should have always an opportunity to obtain information on the schedule of the routes interesting them and also the help in interactive drawing up individual plans of movement for the city. In many cities (in Stockholm, London, etc.) such systems of services are already implemented. The similar system of "pretravel" not only significantly facilitates life of people, but also does their movements more predictable and planned that is very important at further improvement of the transport system. In that case it is far simpler to select the optimal mode of a trip.

Despite the obvious Renaissance of a system of public transport, some offers on building of the transport system for "the smart city" assume including to optimize use of the individual transport. However, this system it is necessary to call "smart rolling" rather. Some cities are going to implement the system of municipal lease of the car. To get kudalibo by the car, the resident determines a location of the next to it of the car by the Internet. After that, using the terminal installed in the machine, he will become authorized in a system and can go. After the trip the driver leaves the machine, and already following can use it.

Listing advantages of the transport systems of the smart city, you should not lose sight also of other moments not so pleasant. It is obvious that implementation of the similar large-scale solution will be quite expensive, and as a result of the price of journey and taxes on vehicles will grow. Experts assume that growth of rates can cause discontent the citizens who are already forced to spread round sums for transport services. Though people can be happy with improvement of traffic and saving of time, increase in a fare for certain will not be apprehended with the same enthusiasm. Considering similar reaction of the public, experts suggest to switch attention of citizens that increase in rates not only leads to more convenient and fast movement, but also allows to reduce the number of harmful emissions in the atmosphere, level of noise pollution and even to prevent road accidents.

Police

Safety of residents — one of the key factors defining quality of life. At the same time safety of citizens cannot be ensured, only fighting terrorism and crime, though it is extremely important. Tragic events in Japan showed, how strongly safety of people threatens also natural disasters, the fires and technogenic catastrophes.

Therefore complex interaction between all extraordinary services of the region is necessary. Today the standard situation looks so: each of divisions (police, a fire brigade, ambulance and service on emergencies) in a certain region has own internal system to which data about kakikhlibo incidents get. Respectively all arising problems are also solved in an individual order — each service bears responsibility only for the actions. The similar scheme is not repaid any more. Hundreds of terrorist attacks worldwide visually showed, intelligence agencies how neskoordinirovanno work.

In the spring 2004g. Madrid was shaken by the accidents which are often associated with "European" on September 11. In four local trains explosions took place, and extraordinary services were not ready to such state of emergency at all and could not use rationally available resources. Communications between different departments were also not adjusted that significantly complicated decision making and as a result complicated rescue of people.

After all above described shortcomings were revealed, the management of the city decided to create the situational center in which all information from all services would be flown down. As we already noted, information exchange — an important condition of existence of "the smart city". Effective coordination between intelligence agencies of Madrid was impossible without communication. Provide it it appeared hardly. Each of the agencies used communication technologies, other than others. Therefore the special mobile computers connected to uniform command center were built in all ambulance and police cars.

Today in Madrid it was succeeded to create the end-to-end system of security based on the general information space. City authorities are sure, as in the future it capable it will be effective to coordinate actions of different extraordinary services. Thanks to the new centralized model of command and management time from the message about state of emergency before arrival of extraordinary services was reduced by 25%. Police officers note that harmonious work helps to use the available resources more effectively.

Most of citizens perceives crimes as single occurrences of cruelty, by no means with each other not connected. However the New York police officers proved that it at all not so, and in big percent of cases nevertheless it is possible to reveal a certain interrelation between crimes and already on the basis of analytical data to prevent illegal acts. Of course, in this case it is not about kakikhto smart attempts, and about those crimes which often are caused by the low level of life: public alcoholism, begging and assaults.

As for more difficult crimes, and in this respect results it is available. In this case in hands detectives and investigators have more and more information on case, so, also the chance to solve the crime grows.

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