Skip to main content

‘Explosion of interest in smart cities’ says report

According to a new tracker report from Pike Research, a part of Navigant’s Energy Practice, the past twelve months have seen an explosion of interest in the smart city concept. Cities around the world have announced new smart city strategies and innovative projects, and many existing programs have been rebranded as smart city initiatives. More than fifty per cent of smart city projects are focused on innovations in transportation and urban mobility. The tracker identifies and details 130 smart city proje
March 5, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
According to a new tracker report from 5644 Pike Research, a part of Navigant’s Energy Practice, the past twelve months have seen an explosion of interest in the smart city concept.  Cities around the world have announced new smart city strategies and innovative projects, and many existing programs have been rebranded as smart city initiatives.  More than fifty per cent of smart city projects are focused on innovations in transportation and urban mobility.  The tracker identifies and details 130 smart city projects underway worldwide.

“Smart city initiatives cover a wide range of projects, but urban mobility is becoming a lynchpin issue that ties together energy reduction, sustainability, and technology innovation,” says research director Eric Woods.  “Devising an environmentally friendly, economically efficient, and voter-acceptable mobility strategy for the modern city is at the top of the priority list for many smart city planners.”

The growing interest in smart city programs is creating a global market opportunity that represents billions of dollars in annual revenue.  City officials see sustainability as closely tied to the economic opportunities for their cities.  They understand that the growth industries of the future will be closely linked to the development of information and communication technologies and services, as well as innovative clean technologies, and they see the smart city concept as both a useful marketing tool and a means of coordinating investment and innovation.

The Smart City Tracker report provides a survey of the current state of smart city developments around the globe in all their diversity, and covers five key industry sectors as they relate to smart cities: smart energy, smart water, smart transportation, smart buildings, and smart government.  It also looks across these sectors at projects that address multiple aspects of city operations.  The tracker includes 130 projects, segmented by region and by primary industry sector, more than ninety per cent of which address issues related to energy, transportation, or government.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Connected car market expected to reach US$131.9 billion in 2019
    February 3, 2014
    The latest report from Transparency Market Research, “Connected Car Market – Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 2013 – 2019,” provides in depth analysis, market size estimates, market shares, and forecast covering the period 2013-2019 for the connected car market across the globe. It discusses market drivers, restraints, opportunities, and market trends. The global connected car market is primarily driven by the changing consumer preference and growing awareness about sa
  • Report on the impact of recession on infrastructure funding worldwide
    May 10, 2012
    A new report examines how aggressive government belt-tightening and financial market deleveraging restrained worldwide infrastructure investments for 2012 and probably for the next five years. In the US, for instance, Infrastructure2012: Spotlight on Leadership, released by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and Ernst & Young, says that constrained public budgets and a growing recognition at the local level of the importance of infrastructure, combined with lack of action at the federal level, are causing state
  • Polis 2013 conference calls for greater coordination of EU policies
    December 10, 2013
    Mobility professionals from across Europe have called for greater coordination of European policies that affect urban and regional transport. Speaking at the 2013 Polis conference, new president Javier Rubio de Urquía said, "We need coordination between European environment, climate, research, energy and transport policies as these have a direct impact on urban and regional transport. This is required to deliver the best sustainable urban and regional transport systems in Madrid as well as anywhere else
  • ITF diagnoses South Asia’s breathing difficulties
    August 26, 2022
    One of the world’s fastest-growing regions faces major transport sector decisions if it is to avoid spiralling emissions problems in coming decades. Alan Dron takes a look at a new report on Asia from the International Transport Forum