The Cyber Society | On ITSPmagazine

Smart Cities, Regions, Countries, And Planet - It Is When We Collaborate That Humanity Benefits

A conversation with:

- Kang Wei Woo | Executive Director at QuantumCIEL, Singapore

- Raimundo Rodulfo | Director of Information Technology / Chief Innovation Officer
 at the City of Coral Gables, Florida

A Smart City Project is never just about technology. First and foremost, it is a strategic project, and it should always be driven by the ultimate goal of increasing citizens' quality of life.

On this podcast, we talk about the City of Coral Gables (Florida) and Singapore — two very different and distant smart cities, and yet, both with visions and missions that are very much the same. Sure, they have their own priorities dictated by their particular needs. But, in the end, they are driven by the same objectives: to improve efficiencies, enable a variety of citizen's services focused on their wellbeing. From safety to transportation; from infrastructure to emergency management; from resiliency and sustainability—technology is undoubtedly part of the solution—but never the solution in isolation.

A strategy is what matters to get where we all want to go. And is not by acting alone that we can achieve the best results. When we can share ideas and experiences, compare best practices, frameworks, and outcomes that we can develop synergies affecting not just one city, but entire regions, states, countries, and — sure, why not — the whole planet.

Technology can help a lot, but it is only when we work together to really improve things for everyone that its value can completely be realized.

"Basically, every Smart City project is not a technology project; it's a strategic project. It is a project that advances the city's mission; the mission in our case is to provide excellent customer services. We produce KPIs and KBIs—key performance metrics—to prove it. Then we gain support and the city understands the benefit of funding more projects." —Raimundo Rodulfo

"When it comes to services, typically, it's not free, not even if it's offered by the government; there is a sense in which you want to be sustainable. Hence you have to manage that service in a commercial way so that we can continue to do good." —Kang Wei Woo

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