Ideas for Europe — Europe of Cities

Up until now, Smart City technology has been developed in accordance to specific needs, structures, budgets and possibilities. From smart data collection, to traffic optimisation, garbage collection and an increased awareness for sustainable solutions, smart community developments have made significant contributions to the wellbeing of their citizens.

In 2021, the pandemic is a reality that we have learned to adapt to. In the wake of Covid-19, many city development plans have seen some setbacks, but at the same time, innovations that seemed a world away have become part of our daily lives much faster than we could have imagined.

The era of COVID has radically changed a lot of elements in our daily lives, from the way we work and communicate, to how we find solutions and adjust our routines. One of the positive shifts that has occurred is most felt in the technological field. Tech developers have managed to find a variety of solutions for just about everything, including new ways of working remotely, how we access vaccinations and so on.

We live in a digital world, with smart connections and services expanding their outreach every day. Smart homes have already become a thing of the present, with their number also expected to surpass the 300 million mark by 2023. Smart homes use connected devices and appliances to perform actions, tasks, and automated routines to save money, time, and energy. And since their existence, all the knowledge gathered around them offers a strong base of learnings that can help us better understand the challenges behind creating and expanding smart cities.