Las Vegas: defining the smart city of the future
The world-famous City of Las Vegas is investing in infrastructure to become a fully-fledged smart city by 2025.
Wanting to provide its 650,000 citizens and more than 42mn annual visitors with a truly modern living experience, Las Vegas will be augmented with intelligent transportation systems and smart energy technologies.
Hoping to achieve seamless interactivity between all aspects of urban life, the city will integrate these disparate services via cloud-based data sharing, advanced data analytics software and real-time decision-making capabilities.
The ‘eyes and ears’ of this smart system will be thousands of IoT (internet of things) equipment deployed throughout the city. Las Vegas officials have named NTT and Dell Technologies are two special partners which will provide the edge-computing solutions necessary.
A strategy resting on six pillars
Far from being ‘innovation for innovation’s sake’, the city hopes to address some fundamental societal issues in its development:
Public safety: Increased connectivity and real-time response capabilities will mean faster action when addressing incidents.
Economic growth: With better technology evenly distributed throughout the area via private sector investment, Vegas’ businesses will be able to flourish and generate further job opportunities.
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Mobility: Connected vehicle infrastructure will provide more accurate traffic data, which, in turn, will aid congestion.
Education: Collaboration between city authorities and universities will strengthen government-academic ties and allow both to develop.
Social: Smart cities are optimised to be as efficient as possible, meaning that there is less waste and less cost for everyday utilities. These savings can be passed down through society and help everyone reach a similar standard of living.
Healthcare: Improved technology also means that reaction-times can be hastened, diagnoses can be made quicker and anticipatory measures can be taken.
Defining the smart city of the future
“Las Vegas is an international stage for innovation and technology,” said Mayor Carolyn Goodman on Innovate Vegas website. “ It will also be a proving ground for collaborative efforts between the city and its new technology partners.
“Las Vegas continues to capture the world's imagination as the city where anything is possible. With world-class hotels, award-winning restaurants, luxurious spas, fantastic shopping, the finest golf courses and spectacular entertainment, Las Vegas remains one of the most electrifying destinations in the world.”
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