Are Smart Cities Really a Thing?

As technology rapidly improves and provides people with a never-ending list of ways to stay connected, those responsible for urban planning are finding new ways to integrate connectedness with essential city services. Cities like Orlando are jumping into the smart city movement with hopes to build a data-driven infrastructure that will support safer, cleaner and more efficient travel and an improved quality of life for the community. However, some are concerned the introduction of smart cities could infringe on citizens' safety, security and privacy. So, is any of this really possible? And is your average resident interested in living in a smart city?

Featured Guests:

Mike Hess - Smart City Project Director, City of Orlando

Craig Ustler - Owner and President, Ustler Development, Inc.

Episode Transcription:

Paul Jarley:                         When I worked at the University of Kentucky, I swore I would vote for any politician who could synchronize the stop lights on Harrisburg Road and cut my travel time to and from work. Smart city initiatives promise to make city life more efficient. But are people really willing to give up their privacy on the promise that Big Brother can cut down on their commute time or save them money on their energy bill? And honestly, if smart cities require smart politicians, I'm skeptical.

Paul Jarley:                         This show is all about separating hype from fundamental change. I'm Paul Jarley, Dean of the College of Business here at UCF. I've got lots of questions. To get answers, I'm talking to people with interesting insights into the future of business. Have you ever wondered, is this really a thing? On to our show.

Paul Jarley:                         So about a year ago I was half asleep in a meeting of deans when somebody said the term smart cities and I hadn't heard that before, so I wrote it down and I will have to tell you, my initial thought was, "Dang, those people in Silicon Valley have the best marketers in the world." I mean, who could be against smart cities?

Paul Jarley:                         So I wanted to do some learning about that and what that really means and whether the marketing is far ahead of the reality or not and what it's likely to do to my world and my students' world going forward. So a couple of people have graciously agreed to join me today who have some opinions on it and I'm going to probe their opinions a little bit.

Paul Jarley:                         So, next to me is Craig Ustler. Craig leading the master development team for the Creative Village here in downtown Orlando. He is also co-developing several vertical projects at Creative Village, including a $105 million student housing project that'd better be ready by August 2019, or we will have a lot of homeless students downtown.

Paul Jarley:                         We're also joined by Mike Hess. Mike is the smart city director for the city of Orlando. He's a Leed fellow and mechanical engineer. He was recently brought on board by the city of Orlando to lead off their smart city efforts. He's worked as the VP of smart and sustainable buildings for Panasonic Smart City team. And he has worked on several smart city projects across the US.

Paul Jarley:                         So, let's start at the beginning. What the heck is a smart city? Craig, you want to?

Craig Ustler:                       There's a couple answers. So one is sort of consistent with your experience. It's become a buzzword that is somewhat self-invented through some marketing folks and real estate folks. And it means in theory, this idea that you're going to use data driven or the Internet of Things and whatnot to connect everything and measure it and analyze it and make things more efficient.