The number of municipalities bristling with sensors and other computerized gadgets to improve everything from the way they monitor traffic to how they manage water use will likely quadruple by 2025, according to a new study that cites San Francisco as among these smart cities.
There will be at least 88 smart cities all over the world by 2025, up from 21 in 2013, according to the study by IHS Technology. In all, Asia-Pacific will account for 32 smart cities of the total in nine years time, Europe will have 31, and the Americas will contribute 25.
IHS defines a smart city as one that has adopted or soon will various communication and other technology to improve at least three key municipal operations.
London, for example, is retrofitting both residential and commercial buildings to lessen carbon dioxide emissions, the study notes. The city is also adopting charging infrastructure to support the introduction of 100,000 electric vehicles.
In Santander, Spain, it adds, soil-humidity sensors detect when land requires irrigating for more sustainable water use.
Among the 21 cities IHS currently categorizes as smart are five in the U.S. – San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago and New York. But it didn t explain why those cities won that designation.
Photo by D. Ross Cameron, Bay Area News Group
