How to measure the quality of life in smart cities?
From pollution levels and the number of traffic accidents to safer public spaces and more efficient heating in buildings—to what extent can the smartness of a city be quantified? And is it possible to measure the quality of life for an urban area through numerical parameters?
It's all about collecting data that is reliable and making sense of the numbers afterwards. Without making the numbers talk, indicators such as smartphone penetration, renewable energy generation and household internet access will simply remain sterile digits.
In Europe, different organisations are trying to identify the best indices for urban smartness.
"One of the main findings is that relevant and up-to-date statistics are generally lacking," explains Philippe Compère, who collaborates with Remourban, a European project developing a replicable urban regeneration model for middle-sized towns.
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-04-quality-life-smart-cities.html#jCp
