Chile. According to the first ranking regarding the potential of Chilean cities to become smart cities, carried out by the Digital Country Foundation in 2014, Santiago is in first place among 56 cities analyzed. Then come Puerto Montt and Concepcion. The factors evaluated were mobility, government, economy and society.
When connectivity and mobility grow rapidly, access and services take on a preponderant role. Just as an example, and according to Gartner data, worldwide smartphone sales reached 349 million units in the first quarter of 2016, which is 3.9% more than in the same period last year. This shows the importance that increasingly acquires for people to have a device that allows much more than just to communicate.
In this context, it is feasible to ask how the city responds to this demand and that is where the concept of smart cities arises again, that is, how urban development based on sustainability is able to respond adequately to the basic needs of institutions, companies and the inhabitants themselves in all their areas of action. For that, information and communication technologies are key.
The use of Big Data, to cite one case, involves the processing of an enormous amount of data from various sources, including citizens themselves. This can make it possible to predict events in urban life, such as location, and make correlations that support the quality of life of people and services to make citizen interaction processes more efficient. The same happens with the massification of cloud computing, the growth of a public network and the Internet of Things, among other cutting-edge technologies. The options are endless, as long as they go in harmony with the ultimate goal of improving the quality of life and making being a citizen more effective.
Technology is available for that and more. However, it is of little use if it is not well developed and applied; if there is no feasible and viable feedback; if there are no laws that regulate, protect and allow a commensurate structure and infrastructure. It is of little use to have state-of-the-art applications if the network does not allow access to them or if the after-sales service is deficient or if a part of the process works badly. The challenges are great, but they are also opportunities to approach much-talked about development more efficiently.
