Can you imagine living in a city without incidents, without pollution, with efficient public transport, where we could manage all the services we need to live well through simple platforms? That and much more is what Digital Cities or Smart Cities are all about.
The origins
The concept of the Smart City began to emerge at the end of the last century. Since then, it has evolved considerably. Initially, it only covered issues related to universal access to the internet and telecommunications. Gradually, it was adapted to the business and academic spheres and used to improve the efficiency of transport, water, energy, etc.
In 2015, the Sustainable Development Summit was held in New York, where the 193 member states of the United Nations signed the agreement for the famous 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
This Agenda has served as a guide, among other things, for the construction of urban projects, including Smart Cities, which seek to integrate: technology, sustainability and well-being for all citizens.
Today, with the advent of Big Data and AI, we are no longer talking just about technology. The ultimate goal is to improve our quality of life, achieve greater sustainability, move towards a much more connected, more efficient and, although it may sound contradictory, more humane life.
Examples of Smart Cities
Some cities stand out as examples of Smart Cities. Copenhagen is one of them, having become one of the greenest cities in the world. This is thanks to the smart systems implemented to improve and reduce carbon emissions and encourage the use of bicycles as the main form of transport.
Big Data is one of the main tools we currently have at our disposal. Thanks to the management and analysis of massive data collected from different sites such as social networks, transport systems, security cameras installed at strategic points, etc., it allows decisions to be made based on patterns and trends.
The data collected on vehicle traffic, daily traffic, or environmental factors such as air quality and CO2 emissions, is essential for better urban planning that serves to improve the real needs of citizens.
To give an example, A Coruña has become a benchmark city in terms of smart urban management. Thanks to smart sensors, they have been able to redirect traffic based on congestion, thus reducing traffic jams and improving and optimising the use of public transport. I was able to see this for myself when I visited the city this summer and noticed that some traffic lights stayed green for pedestrians longer than others.
Another example, this time related to environmental factors, is Tres Cantos. In this area of Madrid, a smart irrigation system has been implemented in parks and gardens. Thanks to sensors that collect real-time data on weather conditions and soil moisture, the system automatically adjusts water consumption to suit the needs of the plants and the climate. It also reduces water consumption by 30%. This makes for a much more sustainable urban environment.
Another objective for a city to become a better place for its citizens is their participation in improving that city.
An example of this is Santander, which is a pioneer in the development and use of digital tools for citizens where they can find out and manage everything related to their city: real-time traffic, public Wi-Fi, timetables for different modes of transport, parking spaces, beach conditions, mobile charging points, interactive totems, etc. In addition, they have a citizen participation portal so that residents can collaborate on local decisions that affect the city.
Barcelona also stands out for its ambitious smart city projects. In November, it will host the Smart City Expo World Congress 2025. This is the world’s leading event for discussing technological solutions for smart cities. It will bring together more than 25,000 participants, 1,100 exhibitors and 600 speakers, 850 cities and 130 countries.
Madrid is not far behind. Among others, I would like to highlight Sueña Madrid, a 360 Urban Strategy Plan. This is a participatory plan that seeks to transform the city into a better place to live, focusing on three main areas: affordable housing, sustainable public space, and environmental, economic and social sustainability.
It includes an ideas competition: What’s happening in Madrid? – Sueña Madrid, where the best proposals will be evaluated based on their quality, innovative nature and ability to respond creatively and comprehensively to the challenges facing the city.
If we look back and see how far we have come over the last few decades, it seems like something out of a science fiction film. That is why I cannot talk about Smart Cities without referring to the cinema, which already visualised this many years ago.
In 2002, Steven Spielberg created Minority Report. It is a futuristic film set in the middle of this century, where the police use psychic technology to arrest and prosecute murderers before they commit a crime. This is possible thanks to ‘precogs’ who can predict crimes.
Although today we do not predict crimes in the way Spielberg designed it (I won’t give away any spoilers), thanks to AI that uses predictive analysis algorithms based on social patterns and historical data, we are able to see which areas are most likely to experience an incident and, as a result, assign more surveillance and security to these areas.
In Minority Report, we also saw cameras that scanned irises to identify people and autonomous cars that moved vertically through buildings. Tom Cruise manipulated floating screens with exaggerated gestures to obtain all kinds of information.
We have not yet advanced to such extremes, but complex identification systems already exist in some public places, such as airports, where facial recognition is used to improve immigration procedures, and fingerprint access, which is already used in some companies and restricted areas. In some hospitals and health centres, biometrics is used to prevent medical errors.
The same is true of number plate recognition in low-emission zones to control access by polluting vehicles.
Fortunately, we leave cars that climb buildings to the realm of fiction. There are already more than 1.5 billion vehicles on the world’s roads, so we are unlikely to see them flying or climbing skyscrapers like Spiderman.
On the other hand, the increase in electric vehicles is already a reality. We have mobility apps on our smartphones, such as Uber, PideTaxi, Cabify, Bolt, Free Now, etc. We have traffic sensors that optimise routes in real time, etc.
The latest development is taxis that already operate without human intervention: robotaxis, which are still in the deployment phase in Europe. Switzerland will be the first country to receive this transport in 2026 thanks to the collaboration between the Chinese company Baidu and the Swiss bus operator PostAuto.
Finally, comparing the dance that Tom Cruise performed in the film as he navigated different screens with that movement of his arms and hands that looked like he was conducting an orchestra, we now have advanced touch screens, augmented reality and interactive panels in control centres and some public facilities to manage services and visualise urban data.
As we can see, the future is already here. Smart cities are being created to improve people’s lives, but we still need to improve some issues to make this a reality and achieve greater reach.
The case of transport
In the case of transport systems, we encounter some obstacles. Some operate with incomplete databases or obsolete systems. This makes the data unreliable, affecting AI decisions.
Furthermore, different modes of transport use different technological platforms, which hinders effective coordination.
Big Data is a major advance, but we must be very careful with data protection. There is great legal concern about how such data is collected, stored and used by AI to improve personalisation in the use of the different platforms that form part of Smart Cities.
Other problems include the shortage of qualified personnel such as data analysts, engineers and urban mobility experts, and digital inclusion so that no one is left out of this highly technological system.
In short, AI and Big Data have great potential to make cities smart, but adequate and modern infrastructure is needed to integrate transport, energy, health, etc., ethical management of data, and cultural and digital progress to educate citizens so that they understand and use the technologies and change their deeply ingrained management habits.
Conclusions
And finally, let’s not forget urban inequality. Could it widen the existing gap between different neighbourhoods?
All of this invites reflection: Are we really ready to live in smart cities? What habits should we change so that technology improves our quality of life?
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Ana Isabel Dorado
Dieser Artikel ist neu veröffentlicht von / This article is republished from: Telefonica, 25.11.2025
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