Nation building now in the hands of cities and communities

Abstract

For a number of reasons over the last five to ten years we have seen a shift in politics, moving away from the centre towards the extreme edges. Many people have been dragged along with this, as many of the mass media outlets are highlighting and fuelling this polarisation. At the same time the power of the cities is increasing, and here it seems still to be possible to gather much broader support for ‘national’ interest projects in relation to digital infrastructure, sustainability and smart city platforms for interconnected LED street lighting, waste and water management, smart parking and other applications. What however, is often still missing is a holistic approach towards the development of smart cities; this needs to be led from the top and to be supported by a ‘smart council’. A major stumbling block towards the development of a smart city is the many silos within a city, resisting the sharing of infrastructure and other relevant assets, resisting open data and open government. There are however, good examples both nationally and internationally of councils that are moving in the right direction.