Smart Cities: A Futuristic Vision

The Smart City Journal
Dr. A.N. Sarkar

The United Nations expects almost doubling of urban population by 2050, while the global population will increase from 7 billion to almost 10 billion. Currently, half of the total population lives in cities. The world is at an unprecedented level of urbanization: the top 25 cities of the world today account for half of the world’s wealth; the top 25 cities of the world today account for half of the world’s wealth; about  10 percent of the world population lives in the top 30 metropolises, and 600 cities accommodate its quarter; the 30 largest cities alone are projected to drive 20% of global GDP growth from 2010 to 2020; cities consume 60% to 80% of the world’s energy production…

​The accelerating growth of cities and their disproportionate consumption of physical and social resources are unsustainable, as are the traditional systems cities rely upon to deliver resources. The future of our world is decided by the quality of its future cities. It is projected that over 40 global cities will come up as Smart Cities by the year 2020. almost 300 smart city pilots are currently planned in China and India alone. This paper attempts to put together a new definition and concept of Smart Cities encompassing its major characteristics such as heritage, aesthetics, e. bricks, economy, environment and modern lifestyle.  Full Article