SMART CITIES: TECHNOLOGY MEETS HOSPITALITY

American scholar Edward Glaeser called the city humanity’s greatest invention. Urban agglomeration facilitates interaction and maximizes human productivity， creating convenience and economic benefits to humanity and in many ways defining our identities as human beings. Today， more than half of the world population lives in urban areas， a proportion projected to increase to 68 percent by 2050， according to a UN report.

However， as the scale of the city expands， urban dwellers have been plagued by myriad “urban maladies” such as air pollution， traffic congestion， housing shortages， and healthcare systems stretched thin.

City managers are already addressing the pressing challenges directly by making cities smarter. Smart cities， built with information and communication technologies and data analysis including Internet of Things， big data， cloud computing， artificial intelligence， 5G， and augmented reality， are designed to optimize city function， improve operational efficiency， share information with the public， and provide a better quality of government service and citizen welfare.

Singapore has taken the lead in the race to build a 21st Century smart city with the people placed front and center. The success of its Smart Nation Initiative depends on the relationship between the government and private sectors and is ultimately determined from the perspective of end-users. In Shanghai， one of China’s most populated metropolises， the municipal government built a smart senior care platform to provide senior citizens with muchneeded support and services in a timely manner. The “City Brain” of Hangzhou， capital of Zhejiang Province， has worked tirelessly with traffic data to help shorten commute times， improve emergency response， and reduce traffic congestion.

Empowered by state-of-the-art technologies， smart cities are becoming increasingly livable， lovable， and resilient.