Why Utilities Are Crucial to All Smart Cities

Abstract

The transition from urban centers as we know them today to the city of the future—a “smart” city—is inevitable. We've witnessed such fundamental shifts in all walks of life. Analog phones went digital and became “smart.” Household devices evolved from being push button garage doors, thermostats, and ovens, to sensor‐driven controllable technologies. Today, we are seeing electric water and gas meters, streetlights, waste bins, along with a litany of other municipal equipment becoming “smart” as well.