Sponsored by Dell Technologies
Smarter, Safer Cities: Improving Public Safety in the Age of AI and IoT (eBook)
Cities have long been at the center of human progress and innovation, and today are more so than ever before. They create opportunities for people to more efficiently learn and share knowledge, conduct trade, build tight communities and enhance quality of life. Cities move civilization forward.
Although cities are key to our society’s development, the growth of large metropolitan areas around the world is relatively recent, particularly when measured against the duration of human beings’ existence. For the first 95% of our history, very few sizable settlements were established. Cities of more than one-million people arose only during the last 1% of homo sapiens’ time on earth, growing to 500 such cities in the world today.[1]
Today, 55% of the world’s population lives in urban areas, growing to 68% by 2050 according to current forecasts. At the heart of this growth are megacities—cities with more than 10 million inhabitants. By 2030, there will be as many as 43 megacities on Earth, up from only 10 in 1990.[2] This explosive urban population growth is just one example of why cities must respond and adapt to new pressures and increasing expectations. From health, transportation, housing, safety, security, education and environment to culture and tourism, today’s public safety and city leaders have an historic opportunity to harness innovation and mobilize public and private resources for the benefit of their citizens – their community.
Looking back 150 years, the Age of Industrialization shifted the paradigm about what cities could accomplish. More recently, the Information Age is changing city life in equally dramatic ways. An emerging community of civic leaders, data scientists, technologists, and companies are joining forces to build “Smart Cities”—communities that are building an infrastructure to continuously improve the collection, aggregation and use of data to improve the life of their residents—by harnessing the growing data revolution, low-cost sensors and research collaborations while protecting safety and privacy.
A confluence of advances in information and communication technologies (ICT), the Edge, Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), computer vision, and related technologies are enabling cities to modernize infrastructure. These advances in technology can ultimately allow cities to tap into the wisdom of residents, visitors and businesses as they drive to improve community, services and quality of life.
Making our cities “smarter” means equipping them with the tools to address the pressing problems that their citizens care most about. To live, work, play, socialize, and raise families in today’s large and complex cities, citizens should feel safe and secure. Safer cities attract businesses, foster innovation, provide unmatched opportunities and create stability for sustained growth. With city populations on the rise, urban planners, municipal governments, and businesses must make important decisions about prioritizing safety and security. By working collaboratively, public and private entities can lay the groundwork to ensure public safety and enable economic development.
To read and download the full 35-page PDF eBook, click here.
