2015 Proceedings of PICMET '15: Management of the Technology Age

Smart Cities and the Internet of Things

Robert R. Harmon1, Enrique G. Castro-Leon2, Sandhiprakash Bhide2
1

Portland State University, USA

2
Intel Corporation, USA

Abstract--The smart city concept represents a compelling

platform for IT-enabled service innovation. It offers a view of
the city where service providers use information technologies to
engage with citizens to create more effective urban
organizations and systems that can improve the quality of life.
The emerging Internet of Things (IoT) model is foundational to
the development of smart cities. Integrated cloud-oriented
architecture of networks, software, sensors, human interfaces,
and data analytics are essential for value creation. IoT smartconnected products and the services they provision will become
essential for the future development of smart cities. This paper
will explore the smart city concept and propose a strategy
development model for the implementation of IoT systems in a
smart city context.

I. SMART CITIES
The emerging smart cities concept is becoming a
compelling example of how information technologies can
improve the quality of life while optimizing the city
operations [24]. With over half of the worlds population
living in cities and rapid population growth in emerging
economies, there is intense pressure to redesign existing cities
and to design new cities from the ground up to become green
and efficient by providing transportation systems, energy
grids, and public services that will enable the livelihood of
city dwellers [2][15].
Some researchers expect the number of smart cities to
increase from 21 in 2013 to over 88 in 2025; with 31 in
Europe, 25 in the Americas, and 32 in Asia-Pacific [2]. By
2020 the global market for smart urban services is expected
to exceed US$400B per year [45]. Frost & Sullivan forecasts
a US$1.5T global market opportunity in smart city energy,
transportation, healthcare, building, infrastructure and
governance [17].

responses to different kinds of needs, including daily

livelihood, environmental protection, public safety, city
services, and industrial and commercial activities [47].
Similarly, smart can be used to describe cities that have
deployed, or are currently piloting, the integration of ICT
solutions across three or more different functional areas of a
city [2]. The functional areas include mobile, transport,
energy, sustainability, physical infrastructure, governance,
safety, and security. The goal of smart cities is to be more
effective and efficient at handling resources and providing
services to citizens. For older cities, smart city development
includes the rethinking and rebuilding of urban infrastructure,
utilities, and services and adding technology-based,
especially smart system based, applications. Therefore a city
may be deemed smart when investments in human and social
capital, physical infrastructure, and city services are
integrated with ICT services to drive innovative approaches
to sustainable economic growth, responsible stewardship of
natural resources, and participatory governance to create a
high quality of life [1][7].

A. Smart City Definitions

The smart city concept is not new. Some researchers view
the concept as an outgrowth of the late 1990s Smart Growth
movement popular with urban planners that advocated
progressive policies for urban growth management with
Portland, Oregon as a leading example of Smart Growth
[3][6]. Table 1 provides representative smart city definitions.
The definitions share a common theme of combining
information and communications technology (ICT) with
investments in human and social capital and modern urban
infrastructure and services to create sustainable economic
growth and a high quality of life for citizens [26][31].
IBM defines the concept as the use of ICT to sense,
analyze and integrate the key information of core systems in
running cities [27]. A smart city can make intelligent

485

Source
Su, et al. [47]

TABLE 1: SMART CITY DEFINITIONS

Hall [23]
Hartley [25]

Toppeta [48]

Washburn, et al.
[49]

Arrowsmith [2]

Harrison and
Donnelly [24]
Schaffers, et al. [43]

Definitions
City that makes intelligent responses to different kinds
of needs, including daily livelihood, environmental
protection, public safety, city services, and industrial
and commercial activities.
City that monitors and integrates conditions of all its
crucial infrastructures
A city that connects the physical infrastructure, IT
infrastructure, social infrastructure and business
infrastructure to leverage the collective intelligence of
the city.
A city combining ICT and Web 2.0 infrastructure with
other organizational design and planning efforts to dematerialize and speed up bureaucratic processes and
help to identify new innovative solutions to city
management complexity, in order to improve
sustainability and livability.
The use of smart computing technologies to make the
critical infrastructure components and services of a
citywhich include city administration, education,
healthcare, public safety, real estate, transportation, and
utilitiesmore intelligent, interconnected, and efficient.
Cities that have deployed, or are currently piloting, the
integration of information, communications, and
technology (ICT) solutions across three or more
different functional areas of a city
The application of complex information systems to
integrate the operation of urban infrastructure and
services such as buildings, transportation, electrical and
water distribution, and public safety.
A city may be called smart when investments in
human and social capital and traditional (transport) and
modern (ICT) communication infrastructure fuel
sustainable economic growth and a high quality of life,
with a wise management of natural resources through
participatory government.

2015 Proceedings of PICMET '15: Management of the Technology Age

There are numerous benefits that can be achieved by

applying ICT in smart cities. These benefits include
improving the utilization of existing infrastructure capacity
which can reduce the need for new construction to increase
capacity; reducing resource consumption, especially water
and energy; reducing CO2 emissions; developing new
services for citizens such as real-time transportation guidance
and e-government services, and monitoring energy, water,
and transportation demand to better manage peak demand
capabilities [24].
Recent technological advances have accelerated the
development of the smart city. The pervasiveness of digital
sensors and digital control systems for the management of
urban infrastructure have enabled applications such as traffic
sensors, building management systems and digital utility
meters [24]. High-speed fixed and wireless networks connect
sensors and smart systems that allow information to be
analyzed in near real-time to improve operation performance
[24]. Smart phones, the Semantic Web, cloud computing,
and IoT promote real world interfaces and applications
[41][49], and embedding the latest advances in mobile and
pervasive computing, wireless networks, middleware and
agent technologies into the physical spaces of the city [42].
B. Motivation for Smart City Development
Innovation and global competition are driving the
development priorities of cities [43].
The European
Commission identified three priorities for a social cohesion
policy to drive the development of smart city solutions.
These priorities are: 1). Competitive Policy to attain
competitiveness in research, innovation, and the upgrading of
skills to support the development of the knowledge economy,
2. Labor Market Policy to sustain employment, facilitate
social cohesion, and reduce poverty, and 3. Sustainable
Development Policy for smart land use, reducing water use,
reducing greenhouse gases emissions, and improving energy
efficiency. City officials were are encouraged to develop
strategies and initiatives to support the development and
implementation of smart city business models [43]. Similar
approaches are underway in Asia and the Americas, typically
in the form of public private partnership (PPP) initiatives.
Smart city business models depend on a technology
platform that consists of 1). High capacity broadband
infrastructure that combines cable, optical fiber, and wireless
networks, 2). Physical infrastructure augmented with
embedded systems, smart devices, sensors, and actuators for
real-time information processing, and 3). Applications to
enable real-time communications and collaboration to enable
engagement between citizens, institutions and businesses
[10][32].
A primary benefit of smart cities is the initiation of largescale participatory innovation processes that can enable more
effective and efficient government and a higher quality of life
for the public. Smart cities engage relevant stakeholders to
develop what can be referred to innovation ecosystems.

These ecosystems are focused around three initiatives: 1).

Business Innovation Economy includes clusters for new
business incubators, technology parks, universities,
manufacturing, services, healthcare, tourism, and enabling
infrastructure to include seaports, rail hubs, airports, and
financial districts. 2). City Infrastructure and Utilities
initiatives to provide services to citizens such as smart
communication networks, smart grid networks, alternative
energy, smart water management, environmental monitoring,
real time alerts, safety, smart transport, personal mobility, and
parking. 3). City Governance initiatives such as egovernment services, engagement with citizens, monitoring
and measurement for evidence-based governance [43].
C. Smart City Frameworks
In arriving at a framework model of a smart city it is
useful to categorize its components [32]. IT infrastructure
and applications are essential for smart cities. One definition
of a smart city is the application of smart computing
technologies applied to critical infrastructure components and
services [50]. The goal is to reduce the time between insight
and action and to empower people throughout the city at
every level to collaborate and act with confidence.
1. Technology, People, and Institutions Framework
[37][38]. This framework focuses on the core components of
a smart city [37]. The framework consists of technology
factors, human factors, and institutional factors. Technology
Factors are identified as IT infrastructure and applications.
But, these are viewed only as prerequisites and require user
engagement and willingness to collaborate and cooperate
among public and private organizations and citizens to truly
energize a smart city.
Human Factors are human
infrastructure, human capital, and education for urban
development. Smart people are critical for smart cities. The
third component is Institutional Factors which encompass
smart governance and policy making for the design and
implementation of smart city initiatives [37].
Smart
governance is viewed as a cornerstone of the smart city where
stakeholder engagement in decision making and public and
social services in addition to leveraging the technology and
human factors is critical to smart city success.
2 IBMs Smarter Cities Framework [27].
IBM
approaches the Smarter Cities framework in a similar but
more comprehensive fashion. The framework consists of
three dimensions: Planning and Management, Infrastructure,
and People with subcategories as presented below:
Planning and Management. The goal for smarter city
planning and management is to enable a city to realize its
full potential while maintaining efficient day-to-day
operations.
Public Safety. Increasing public safety is one of the
quickest methods to produce quantifiable results and
shape public opinion. Public safety agencies can gather
and analyze data for traffic, weather, crime, health
matters, security breaches, hazardous materials, fires,
potential disasters, etc. and deliver actionable information

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to their stakeholders in near real time. This data informs

governmental activities such as emergency management
and law enforcement. Capabilities such as big data
analytics, data visualization, and real-time collaboration
and coordination enable better planning, operations, and
post-activity assessment.
Government and Agency Administration. The goal is to
reorient government policies to guide sustainable smart
growth that will meet the needs of citizens and business.
City Planning and Operations. Smarter cities use smart
systems and data analytics to design, implement, and
manage their operations. The goal is to maintain efficient
day-to-day operations.
Smarter Buildings. The National Science and Technology
Council estimates that commercial and residential
buildings use a third of global energy. In North America
buildings consume approximately 72% of electricity, 12%
of water use, and generate 60% of non-industrial waste
[27]. By 2025 buildings are estimated to consume more
energy than the transportation and industrial sectors
combined. Smarter buildings use sustainable materials
and are designed to run more efficiently by using smart
systems technologies. Smart buildings with smart sensors
and control systems can measure, sense, and assess the
condition of critical building systems such as HVAC,
energy use and demand response, elevators, lighting, fire,
elevators, air quality, water provision and use, security
and access control, monitor the operations of the computer
networks and applications.
Infrastructure. Infrastructure services are fundamental for
making a city livable in terms of both necessities and
comforts for citizens and businesses.
Energy. The development of smart grids using digital
sensors, advanced ICT networks and big data analytics
can help utilities more effectively manage supply and
demand and enable more efficient energy use through
intelligent distribution management systems.
Water. Smarter water management adopts a holistic view
of water and waste water systems that integrates and
visualizes data on consumptions, quality, flow, and
pressure. Sensors embedded throughout the water sources
and infrastructure provide for big data analytics-driven
solutions for the real-time tracking and reporting of
conditions and system wide water management.
Transportation. For most cities it is not possible to build
new roadways, rail systems, or ports. However, capacity
can be increased by embedding sensors and location
technology into the transportation infrastructure and using
cloud-based real-time analytics to reduce congestion and
transport times. The goal is the development of an
intelligent transportation system across all modes of
transport.
People.
Social Programs. Solutions in this space enable easier for
citizens to access social programs for better life outcomes
and ensuring that service organizations can deliver

effective citizen-centered services with better results.

Programs include social assistance, family services,
employment services, and disability management.
Healthcare. In 2010, 30% of all computer data worldwide
was medical images not connected to a smart system [27].
Healthcare solutions need to be instrumented,
interconnected and intelligent. The goal for smarter
healthcare is to enable better diagnoses, help professionals
treat illness, find ways to cure disease, and enable
individuals to make smarter choices about their health and
care.
Education. Smarter education analytics applications can
provide integrated K-20 solutions to support teaching as
well as learning outside the classroom. The challenge is
monitoring student performance and developing
innovative teaching methods to improve learning
outcomes.
3. The Smart City Initiatives Framework [10]. The work
of integrating the theoretical and conceptual framework for
the smart city is still in flux [10][37]. There are common
elements in the proposed frameworks. The word smart is
commonly associated with technology, digital,
intelligent, ICT, and big data analytics. The definitions
in Table 1 above indicate that smart cities involve an
integration of human capital, physical infrastructure, and ICT.
The Smart Cities Initiatives Framework is in the
mainstream of this conceptualization [10]. The framework
includes management and organization, technology,
governance, policy context, people and communities,
economy, infrastructure, and the natural environment.
Management and Organization. Smart city initiatives
leverage intensive use of ICT and require strong
management and organizational capabilities.
Technology. Smart computing and IoT technologies that
are integrated with city infrastructure and services are at
the core of the smart city concept. They are the key
drivers of smart city initiatives.
Governance.
Smart city projects involve multiple
stakeholders requiring innovative and effective
governance in terms of laws, administrative rules, judicial
rulings, and practices that prescribe and constrain
government activity [33].
Policy Context. Smart cities involve the interaction of
technology with political and institutional components.
Policy creates conditions that enable urban development.
People and Communities. Smart city projects impact
citizens. The goal is to foster more informed, educated,
and participatory citizens. To that end, smart city
initiatives enable citizens, and their communities, to
become active users and participate in the governance
and management of the city.
Economy. A core purpose of a smart city is to foster
innovation and to increase economic competitiveness.
Initiatives include: smart economy, smart people, smart

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Smart City Dimensions

Institutional Factors
Public Safety
Government & Agency
Administration

TABLE 2. TAXONOMY OF SMART CITY FRAMEWORKS

Technology, People
IBM Smarter Cities [20]
Institutions [27]
Planning & management enables
Institutional is a major
cities to realize full potential
component of smart city
framework
Smart systems for public safety
agencies
Governance, policy,
Government policies for
regulations, directives
sustainable smart growth.
Smart systems and analytics to
manage operations
Smarter buildings for increased
energy efficiency and lower costs
IBM does not call out technology
as a separate smart city
dimension. It is integrated into all
dimensions of the smart city.
Physical infrastructure is a major
category for IBMs smarter cities
framework.
Smart grids, digital sensors, ICT
networks, and analytics to manage
supply and demand.
Smart water management

City Planning & Operations

Buildings
Technology Infrastructure and
applications

Smart, mobile, virtual

technologies, digital networks

Physical Infrastructure

Physical infrastructure is
associated with ICT and
applications

Energy
Water

Transportation is high impact

factor for all modes of intelligent
transport.
Major multi-faceted category for
smarter cities
Smart solutions for a better life
Intelligent healthcare solutions
Using smart applications and
analytics to support teaching and
student learning
Smart city concept is based on
innovation and economic growth
through integration of smart
systems with key functional areas.
More efficient use of and
management of natural resources.

Transportation
People
Social Programs
Healthcare
Education

Human factors is major

category
Social capital
Develop human infrastructure

Economy

Environment

governance, smart mobility, smart environment, and smart

living [10][20]. Smart ICT systems are central to that
capability.
Infrastructure. ICT infrastructure and its integration with
physical infrastructure is essential to the development of
the smart city. Sensors, smart systems, wireless mobile
and Wi-Fi networks are enable the development of
service-oriented ICT systems.
Environment. Smart cities are about environmental
sustainability.
ICT applications able the effective
management of natural resources such as water, waste
water, energy, land use, and green spaces.
Table 2 summarizes the three smart city concept
frameworks presented above. All of the frameworks include
similar primary dimensions, although the elements and
activities in the categories often differ. All recognize that
ICT and especially IoT capable smart systems and sensors are
the foundational intelligent capabilities that make cities and
their citizens smart. It is interesting to note in this

Smart Cities Initiatives [7]

Management & organization
capabilities leverage ICT

Innovative, effective
governance. Policies, laws,
rules, rulings, & practices.
Operations is under
Governance
Smart computing technologies,
ICT infrastructure
Physical infrastructure
Energy management (classified
as environment)
Water management (classified
as environment)

People and communities is

major category
Quality of life
Educated and participatory
citizens
Smart cities foster innovation
and economic competitiveness
Environmental sustainability of
natural resources

comparison of smart city frameworks that IBMs Smarter

City framework is the most comprehensive.
II. SMART CITIES AND THE INTERNET OF THINGS
Smart cities make use information technology to
beneficially transform operations, work, and the life of
citizens. The Internet of Things represents an integrated
smart system architecture of sensors, software, networks, and
corresponding interfaces that hold the promise to do just that.
IoT systems provide real-time awareness and integrate
people, processes, and knowledge to enable collective
intelligence for smart decision-making.
A. Smart City Systems
To be effective, smart systems need to be instrumented,
interconnected and intelligent [12]. Instrumentation enables
the collection of timely high-quality data through embedded
sensors that communicate over wireless or wired networks.
For example, devices such as smart meters for gas, electricity,

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and water continually monitor the supply and demand for

these utilities [12].
Interconnection creates the linkages among data, systems,
and people. In 2014, 42.3% of the worlds population of
7.2B were users of the Internet, up from 361 million users at
the end of the year 2000, in increase of over 700% [28].
North America and Europe have the highest penetration rates,
however, less developed countries are rapidly catching up
[28]. This high degree of interconnectivity enables the
Internet of Things to become a reality. Recently four major
cloud and network providersCisco, IBM, GE, and
Amazonhave announced plans to support IoT. The
installed base of active wireless connected devices exceeded
16 billion in 2014 and is predicted to exceed 40 billion by
2020 [36]. Cisco estimates there will be 50 billion connected
smart objects and more than $19 trillion worldwide market
value for IoT by 2020 [10]. The interconnections among
people, objects, and systems across the framework of the city
will enable new ways to gather, share, and act on
information.
Intelligence in the form of new computing models,
algorithms, and advanced analytics will enable better
decisions and outcomes for cities and their citizens [12].
Smart connected objects will generate tremendous amounts
of useful data to enable the development, deployment, and
use of smart products and services. For example, statistical
models can predict traffic flows, energy and water supply and
demand, educational performance, safety problems and
solutions, and the efficacy of medical treatments to enable
better outcomes and lower costs.
B. IoT Network Requirements
The emerging smart city concept has many definitions and
approaches as we have reviewed. However, all smart cities
have at their core a highly capable ICT system with a
network of sensors, wired and wireless broadband
connectivity, and advanced data analytics that enable the
intelligent, efficient, and environmentally friendly services
for citizens [15]. The following requirements are essential
for the integration of smart systems with IoT based smart
products and services in a smart city context.
1. Sensors: Sensors are essential components for IoT
based smart products. The amount of data these sensors
create will be very large. IoT devices will communicate over
the regular communication channels such cellular or Wi-Fi.
The collective bandwidth available for these devices to send
the data is a major limiting factor. One approach to deal with
this is to equip end-node sensors with processing capability to
analyze, interpret, and select data for interpretation at the end
node. Data exceptions and statistical information are passed
on to the cloud [22]
2. Security: A smart city network with a large number of
end nodes is subject to cyber-attack which can critically
affect smart city infrastructure such as dams, electricity grid,
bridges, airports, and water supplies. Security is required at
four levels: secure storage for sensor data, secure in-memory

databases, secure communication, and secure execution

environment. Secure sensor data will enable secure analytics,
interpretation, and secure actuation of the critical parts of the
infrastructure. An authentication mechanism for secure
access by authorized users for the right kind of access. [52].
3. Fault tolerance/fail safe: Key infrastructure elements
require fault tolerance and fail-safe capability in the event of
a power failure or disaster. Battery backup is essential to
ensure the sensing function would continue for some length
of time. Secondly, critical infrastructure need to include
redundancies to ensure IoT system can continue to operate in
adverse conditions. Intrusion and theft deterrence is essential
to facilitate asset recovery or decommissioning to ensure that
data is kept from the thief and malware is not introduced to
the wider system [40],
4. Energy harvesting: Many smart city devices will be
placed in locations where power connections are not
available. Running thousands of devices on batteries is not a
viable option. In such environments, smart sensors and
actuators must be embedded with energy harvesting
mechanisms which allow the devices to operate for 10, 15, 20
years without human intervention Energy can be harvested
from PV solar cells and, in some instances, ambient sources
[21].
5. Connectivity: The IoT network provides for slow as
well as fast sensors. For CCTV security and traffic systems
such as those in major cities it is important for most of the
video analytics be processed in the camera itself. Data can
then be available for real time streaming and network
viewing. For example, when there is no traffic problem,
there is nothing to communicate to the cloud. In the event of
an accident, the smart solution can allow streaming and
remote viewing of video data by city emergency services
[52].
6. Manageability: Since a large number of smart devices
and sensors can be widely placed geographically at large
distances, the IoT network must incorporate means to allow
remote management of these devices. This may include
remote delivery of OS patches, profiles, new analytics
algorithms and key management of parameters. For example,
a presidential visit to a city may require remote management
of traffic lights, so the entourage may pass smoothly through
the city [35].
7. Mesh-networked devices: IoT devices to be able to
talk with each other without going to the backend, share the
data among end nodes, and communicate with other devices
in the vicinity for group processing. For example, a specific
end node may sense a chemical spill in a one area may
interrogate nearby nodes to see if the other nodes are sensing
the same.
The decision making through combined
intelligence of multiple nodes can help in taking better
decisions [42]
8. Open APIs for citizens to enable service creation:
Smart cities can generate a large number data sets from
networks of devices and sensors. Much of this data is stored
and not analyzed. The smart city network should allow

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access to common sharable data and becomes a platform for

the development of innovative applications. For example,
utility companies can use the data to gain accurate
information on electricity, water, and gas usage to improve
resource planning. Public transportation providers can use
data on arrival, departures, level of utilization and loading to
model more efficient routing. Citizens can plan trips and
transportation mode choice based on desired activities and
locations [16].
9. Backend or cloud storage: This is where data and
statistics get stored and analyzed and post-processed to make
sense over time and used to make macro-decisions. For
example, a range of weather data (temperature, pressure,
humidity, etc.) coming from a large number of end nodes
collected over time can help predict micro-climates in a
specific area of the city [54].
10. Sensor network communication: IoT devises use
several methods of communication. Some may require 3/4G
wireless networks. Smart meters and home devices may need
Z-Wave or ZigBee, some may require Wi-Fi, BLE,
6LoWPAN depending on the type of sensors and IoT devices
used in the framework [14].
C. IoT Systems Architecture
An IoT system integrates information from vast arrays of
sensors. This information needs to be reduced so it can be
handled by existing networks, screened to ensure integrity
and to ensure it follows security policies, and processed and
stored so it becomes usable to the eventual consumers.
IoT sensors are discrete motes providing information
about pressure, temperature, activity, sound or video feeds or
specific events such as a door opening. These sensors can be
self-standing such as street video feeds, automated weather
stations or retrofits on legacy equipment. Newer equipment
will likely have embedded sensors. The initial filtering is
done by local processors, sensor hubs shown in Fig. 1 sitting
at the edge of the sensor network: a traffic camera monitoring
a crossing may be program to upload only events where there
has been a red light violation [53].

Data from the sensors and sensor hubs is assumed to be

untrusted. Gateway computers take this information and
screen it to make sure it has not been corrupted or tampered
with and send it to a data center for consumption. Today this
process takes place within a single company or governmental
entity.
However, for scalability purposes, these tasks can be
delegated and fulfilled to service providers under contract.
For maximum scalability and interoperability across
stakeholders in multiple organizations the implementation
protocols need to be industry standard open protocols to the
extent possible. For enhanced security, a secure boot facility
is available in certain processors and chipsets and enforced at
the hardware level [51].
Data centers can do extensive processing on the
aggregated and sanitized sensor data. The data can be run
through analytics applications, stored in databases for later
use or aggregated and prepared for real time consumption.
The Intel Mashery [4] service allows exporting applications
to the cloud through Web services based APIs (See table 3).
These APIs can be consumed in turn by applications in other
organizations and the resulting functionality becomes
consumable by a variety of client PCs, tablets and mobile
smart devices. Under this architecture, sensor data gets
incorporated into a service network. The owner of the data
and the owner of the infrastructure may be different entities.
This architecture places no particular restrictions on
ownership, which is assigned based on technical or business
considerations.
TABLE 3. IOT SYSTEMS AND IMPLEMENTATION PROTOCOLS
IoT System
Implementation Protocol
Corporate, government,
Web services, REST application access
consumers
control
Application APIs
Manageability: OMA DM, TR-069,
Web configuration, IPMI, Redfish
Cloud data centers
Runtime environment: Java, Lua, OSGI,
Intel Mashery
Gateways
Security: Open SSL library, certificate
management, secure boot, encrypted
storage
Sensor hubs and sensors
Connectivity: Zigbee, Z-Wave, cellular
2G/3G/4G, Bluetooth, serial, USB,
VPN, Wi-FI, MQTT

III. SMART CITY STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT

With city planners, IT network providers, software
companies, smart product and service providers, research
firms, and academicians all predicting, and investing, in the
promise of rapid disruptive growth for the emerging smart
cities ecosystem, what could go wrong? The convergence of
the cloud, inexpensive bandwidth, wireless networks, smart
phones with social, and information apps, the
consumerization of IT at work and home, coupled with the
rise of the IoT network concept, is disrupting the old
bureaucratic, slow-moving, high-cost, and ineffective city
Figure 1. A Smart City IoT System

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business model [8]. As IoT and the smart city trend gather
steam, businesses and cities are preparing for this future.
At present, there are successful models for connected
things such as security systems, automated toll booths, airline
check-in machines, automated teller machines, self-service
retail check out, and smart vending machines. However,
Gartner states that new connected things including ordinary
previously non-smart (passive) things, are being reinvented as
smart objects with digital sensing, computing, and
communications capabilities [18]. The technology is being
deployed, but the challenge for city and business executives
is developing a disruptive IT-enabled service innovation
business model. Adding intelligence to old objects and
infrastructure or designing new smart systems, smart products
and smart services, while necessary, is not sufficient for
disruptive impact or competitive advantage. Technology, to
be truly disruptive, must disrupt customer value.
Lubin and Esty studied how managers dealt with
disruptive market megatrends issues [34]. The authors
researched the TQM and IT megatrends of the 1980s to
determine how managers dealt with megatrend scale
disruption. While most managers perceived that their
decisions could profoundly affect the future competitiveness
or even survival of their organizations, they did not develop a
Stage
1
2

strategic vision or plan to embrace the emerging market

disruption to their advantage. After assessing successful
companies, they identified four distinct stages for navigating
a megatrend from initial efficiency-based strategies to
becoming disruptors themselves. The stages are:
Reduce costs,
Reengineer products and processes
Transform the core business, and
Create new business models.
We used these stages to illustrate the Smart City Strategy
Development Model in table 4. Although the development of
smart cities is relatively recent phenomenon, the reliance on
ICT innovation is at the core of the concept [10][11][27][37].
Most smart cities initiatives, such as Barcelona and
Amsterdam, involve the reengineering of existing cities by
retrofitting new infrastructure [7]. Other initiatives, such as
those in Songdo, South Korea and the Yujiapu Financial
District, China, are designed as smart cities from inception
[29]. In all instances planners would be wise to navigate the
smart city strategy development stages to inform the
transformation of existing cities and for new smart cities to
start with best practices from the start.

TABLE 4. SMART CITY STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT STAGES

Megatrend Strategy
Smart City Innovation Strategy
Reduce costs, waste and risks
Reduce costs from existing operations and infrastructure such as energy, water, safety,
and transport. Reduce carbon footprint from computing, especially data centers.
Develop standards and regulations to manage existing and future risks.
Reengineer and redesign products
Engage stakeholders. Ready the old business model for change. Pilot projects to test
and business processes
new business model assumptions. Rethink and redesign infrastructure and processes,
and migrate from passive products and services to intelligent solutions. Incorporate
ICT smart capability into all infrastructure and business processes.
Transform the core business and
Launch the smart city business model. Build trusted relationships with all
integrate new ideas
stakeholders including citizens, suppliers, partners, and employees. Develop
infrastructure, processes, applications, and organizational culture that embraces and
drives smart city success.
Develop new business models for
Develop the smart city as a platform for creating innovative solutions to create and
disruptive innovation and
address new market opportunities by creating. Become recognized as a leader of the
differentiation
smart city megatrend.

A. Smart City IoT Implementation Cases

It is instructive to consider some relevant examples of
smart city implementations of IoT technology-oriented
projects. The New York Digital City under the sponsorship
of the Mayors Office [46] and the Barcelona Smart City
under the Barcelona Activa Program approach the
implementation of digital city programs from two different
perspectives. [5][13][44].
1. The New York Digital City Program. This program
uses a more traditional IT-driven approach that leverages
citizens with smart mobile devices and commercial social
media with all functions, applications and services integrated
into the NYC.GOV portal [46]. The Digital City program
initiatives include:
Access NYC, a tool for accessing governmentadministered public benefit programs such as Head Start,

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SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program),

Medicaid or Summer Meals,
ACRIS (Automated City Register Information System)
for searching property records,
Business Express, a one-stop end point for accessing all
permitting functions for new businesses in one place,
NYC Service, a database describing volunteering
opportunities and organizations,
Bill Payments, a payment platform for New York
residents to manage all City-issued bills.
Permits and Applications, for managing City-issued
permits, from street festivals to sporting events to bicycle
racks, and
NYCulture Calendar, managed by the Department of
Cultural Affairs providing a directory of City events.

2015 Proceedings of PICMET '15: Management of the Technology Age

The City complements the NYC.GOV portal with social

media venues including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn,
YouTube, and texting. The Digital City Road Map does not
contain any explicit mention to use of IoT or data from sensor
networks. Applications such as The Daily Pothole rely on
citizen reports from smartphones (smart sensors themselves)
to populate the pothole database, not from embedded sensor
or video feeds. This conservative approach does not prevent
the program from bringing value to users and from being
popular. The program claims engaging more than 25 million
people a year [46].
In terms of the goals described in the strategy
development model in Table 4, the New York Digital City
program has achieved Stage 1 in reducing the need for in
person or telephone interaction with the corresponding
reduction citizens need to spend in traffic or queued in
government office lines or waiting rooms. Stage 2 is work in
progress; although NYC Digital City features new
applications such as NY Culture Calendar, most of the virtual
services are add-ons to existing processes rather than radical
process re-engineering.
2. The Barcelona Smart City Program. Smart City
Barcelona implements a broad variety of technical
capabilities [5]. Barcelona seeks to provide services by using
ICT throughout the development and implementation of its
smart city model [11][44]. The model identifies twelve smart
city initiatives:
ICT, information flows, environment,
mobility, energy, water, waste, nature, built domain, public
space, open government and services. The city has more than
500 kilometers of fiber-optic network. It is developing a
series of projects to support a smart city initiative to create an
integrated internet and telecommunications for the city.
The project is developing in three technological layers.
The first layer consists of sensors deployed throughout the
city. These sensors are supporting smart water, smart
lighting, and smart energy management. Sensor data is
collected on the Sentilo sensor platform and made available
to support numerous services. The second layer is the citys
operating system (City OS) which will aggregate and analyze
all data from the various city applications using big data
modeling and predictive analytics, when completed. The
third layer provides the customer interface for sharing data
and analytics from the City OS with both city government
and private external data users. The three layer urban
platform is a developing model for IT-enabled service
innovation [11].
Barcelona has reached Stages 1 and 2 in the strategy
development model. It is making progress in Stages 3 and 4.
Regarding Stage 3, the old ways of doing business are still
there as a backstop. Innovative ideas are already in practice
but have not replaced business as usual as a result fewer
cross-project synergies have been achieved. This will change
when they retire the legacy infrastructure.
The development of the three-layer urban platform for
IT-enabled service innovation, when complete, will bring
Barcelona solidly into Stage 4 territory and ready for the

development of potentially disruptive new business models.

With its comprehensiveness, the Barcelona Smart City
program is viewed as a leading example for smart city
projects worldwide [30]. It embodies many of the smart city
dimensions in the IBM Smarter Cities framework in Table 2.
B. Implications.
For both New York and Barcelona, the different program
components are self-standing applications. There are future
opportunities to exploit synergies across programs. This
observation may be premature at this point as IoT technology
is still very young and evolving fast. Perhaps the IoT
industry is better served through experimentation of emerging
capabilities rather than be concerned about issues of
interoperability and normalization too prematurely which can
prove to be too constraining in the long term. Normalization
has historically taken place as a function of technology
maturity. For instance different automotive companies today
have many common suppliers from tires to transmissions to
semi-complete vehicles. Even electronic health record
applications, a compelling example of incompatibility, has
made significant, albeit painful progress in the past 10 years.
V. CONCLUSIONS
The smart city movement is becoming the next big thing
for city government transformation. Unfortunately, Gartners
Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies views the Internet of
Things trend and all of its influences, including Smart Cities,
to be at the very top of the Hype Cycle [19]. In 2014,
Internet of Things replaced Data Science as the most
hyped technology. This is indicative of enterprises and
governments that have exhausted analog business models and
are seeking to transform themselves into digital enterprises.
Interestingly, smart cities and IoT are based on data science,
so there the potential for a double whammy of hype in play
here. But, the momentum seems to be in the right direction.
All the major network companies, IBM, Cisco, GE, and
Amazon are promoting IoT as the next digital transformation.
All of these companies have highly evolved Smart City
strategies, especially IBM and Cisco who often partner on ITenabled service development. In addition, there are now
dozens of cities worldwide that have bought into the smart
city concept. Will the budgets follow?
Given all the data breaches at all levels of government as
well as business, cyber security is hardly a strong point for
IoT or smart cities. As more and more sensor enabled smart
objects are networked onto the Internet, the potential for even
greater, and more damaging data thefts and system takeovers
accelerates. Already, there is circumstantial evidence of
drive-by-wire Internet connected vehicles being hacked.
Privacy is also another major issue. Many citizens worry
about the privacy of smart meters. Lower energy use may
mean the resident is not home. Electronic medical records
are a huge privacy risk as the healthcare.gov experience has
demonstrated. A lot more effort on trust building based on

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privacy protections and data security needs to happen before

smart cities gain citizen acceptance.
On a positive note, the smart city concept seems to be
gaining acceptance, at least with government and technology
providers. The forecasts are compelling and the long term
potential may be there. But, some researchers argue that
innovative applications of smart ICT cannot automatically
create a smart city. They look for more creative cooperation
between smart people [1]. It is difficult to determine how
smart a city really is. Some researchers have attempted to
develop a smart city index [31]. But, the indicators were not
homogeneous and required a large amount of qualitative data.
At, present there is a lot of variability, as we have seen in this
paper, in defining what a smart city is and what dimensions
are most relevant.
The implications for future research are significant. There
is potentially trillions of dollars in play and much risk for
governments, city residents, and technology providers to
develop workable technology and business plans, much less
develop the truly disruptive business models that most
advocates expect. Much work has been done to define some
dimensions of the smart city. We will learn more as the
experiment continues.
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APPENDIX
Glossary
6LoWPAN IPv6 over Low power Wireless Personal
Area Networks
BLE Bluetooth Low Energy, now merged into the
Bluetooth standard.
Intel Mashery An Intel-provided service that allows
exporting corporate applications as a Web Services API,
mainly to make these applications available to mobile
devices
IPMI Intelligent Platform Management Protocol, a
protocol to implement equipment management
capabilities. Its a low level, binary protocol
JSON JavaScript Object Notation. Human-readable
open-standard format for data objects, simpler than XML
Lua Cross-platform lightweight language used for
scripting
MQTT Publish-Subscribe lightweight messaging
protocol on top of TCP/IP
OMA-DM A device management protocol defined by
the Open Mobile Alliance
OSGi A modular system and service platform for Java
Redfish A JSON, high level protocol used to implement
equipment management capabilities
SSL library Open source implementation of the secure
sockets layer/transport layer security, a package for
encrypting and decrypting information over the Internet
TR-069 Technical report 069, data models applicable to
the customer premises equipment WAN management
protocol.
VPN Virtual Private Network.
Z-Wave Wireless protocol for implementing control
applications in residential and light commercial settings
ZigBee Wireless standard to enable personal area
networks from small, low power digital radios.

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