Cities to become smart with GIS technology
There has been lot of buzz around the smart city concept,one of the Government’s prime development plans. 100 cities have been earmarked for such growth centers where people, environment and technology will work together. In fact, the Government went even further to announce fast track smart city plan competitions, in which 20 cities were selected for the first development.Around Rs.50,000 Cr has been allocated for the development in such cities.
In the purview of this initiative,many multinationals have pledged a funding of $35 billion during the Make in India mega event held in Mumbai, in order to support themagnanimous mission.
So what is a ‘Smart City’?
There have been many definitions of a smart city. However a smart city can be said to encompass characteristics such as sustainability, high economic development and most importantly, a high quality of life.
The Government’s Smart City Plan
The Government has enabled four pillars of infrastructure – institutional, physical,social and economic – for economic development. To enable the radical development of cities, a 20-year road map has been drawn up to achieve strategic benefit to each city. A lot of focus has also been put on involving ideas from the people of these cities.The efficient use of fuel, extensive use of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) and GIS (Geographical Information System) will reduce carbon emission and lead to a sustainable and energy efficient ecosystem.
The use of GIS technology
ESRI is one such organisation which has been commissioned for the extensive use of GIS technology. GIS interface is an important tool used to map the different layers of a geographical region, to understand and zone the areas for future development. It has a number of advantageous uses, listed below:
1. The use of GIS will help the Government map the exact requirements of a particular physical infrastructure and figure out where land use needs to be planned. The possibilities are endless with this app.
2. It could also help locate different income groups, which would form the basis for planning affordable housing.
3. Applications such as Traffic Management Systems, made sustainable with the use of solar panels, would enable optimum usage of electricity. An Advanced Traffic Management System embedded in GIS would help in studying the traffic islands across different areas and help in creating a robust and efficient transport system.
4. Another alternative use of GIS would be locating biological patterns such as the growth of algae and cultivating it for bio fuel, such as Algae Fuel, which would reduce the usage of petrol in the distant future.
5. Predictions of housing demand can be analyzed using 3D demographic mapping and decadal population shift patterns. GIS Platform is already popular in developed nations in cities such as San Diego in the US, which has been planned with an extensive use of GIS.
6. The application can also help in energy usage – GUI, when installed in electric meter devices, would enable the user to understand the usage. This would be connected to the energy supply companies, which would monitor the supply and arrest the loss of electricity,thereby ensuring efficiency.
7. Such is the multifaceted use of GIS, that it could also help locate underlying potential for ONG pits. More importantly also identify potential risks of natural calamities or disease prone areas and help position the development accordingly.
This phenomenon is setting the stage for a new India and eventually the community will be empowered with the efficient use of this untapped potential. Smart Homes will mean a smart environment and of, course smart people. As such cities develop, they will also generate a lot of relevant insights into the real estate market, which will have a renewed future in the field of GIS enabled planned cities.
