Decentralisation in Smart Cities

On the future of cities and our potential with decentralised technology

The problem with today’s cities

The scale of migration into cities has been rising exponentially in the last couple of decades. The promise of better work and higher quality lifestyles have demanded cities to adapt continuously. Cities will be the main engine of the global economy, but they will also be the planet’s biggest unsustainable hotspots if they aren't made smart. 

Pollution, depletion of resources, and social inequalities are just a few of the problems festering in today's megacities. Cities must continue to innovate in areas ranging from infrastructure, transport, healthcare, education, entertainment so there is a possibility to accommodate the ever-growing urban population and support it with adequate resources.

Historically, cities have been at the forefront of innovation and concentrated populations have strained food, water, infrastructure and other resources. There is an urgent need for cities to start being smarter. This effectively means that the technology base through smartphones and connectivity devices, the application layer through apps that enable transfer and analysis of data, along with the usage by stakeholders (government, citizens, companies) will allow a city to manage its resources better and become ‘smart’. 

A smart city uses information and communication technology (ICT) to improve operational efficiency, share information with the public and provide a better quality of government service and citizen welfare.

Our increasing consumptions

Research from C40 Cities, Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy, the Urban Climate Change Research Network (UCCRN) and Acclimatise predicts how many urban residents will face potentially devastating heat waves, flooding and droughts by 2050 if global warming continues on its current trajectory. 

Headline findings include that, by 2050

• 1.6 billion people living in over 970 cities, will be regularly exposed to extreme high temperatures.

• Over 800 million people, living in 570 cities, will be vulnerable to sea level rise and coastal flooding.

• 650 million people, in over 500 cities, will be at risk of water shortages due to climate change.

• 2.5 billion people will be living in over 1,600 cities where national food supply is threatened by climate change.

Will smart cities in the current context help?

The promise of smart cities is immense. Making a city smart means increased mobility, better energy efficiency, efficient resource management, and improved connectivity. 

However, developing a city which can be controlled from a central system raises serious questions on security. Data security and privacy is important for a smart city to flourish. Centralised data infrastructure systems that power millions of citizens' data are prone to risk through security breaches and network hacks. Over the last few years with the rise of decentralised technologies, there is now a push to build out safer technologies that will become imperative in envisioning a smart city. 

So what’s the best way to make a city smart?  

Smart cities that can harness decentralisation will prove to be more effective. Smart cities must embrace open source and decentralized software tools to 

1) remove municipal dependence on public services

2) foster innovation and inclusion among the public and the city stakeholders

3) ensure resilience and security of critical data and infrastructure

4) allow more inclusive access to economic opportunities through data sharing

Let’s explore a few ways applications for decentralisation in smart cities below. 

Data Collection

The distributed and immutable nature of decentralised ledger technology makes reports verifiable and continuous. Blockchain enhances security greatly and a combination of on-chain functionalities with Internet-of-Things enabled devices makes for effective data collection in large amounts.

Cross-Border Contracts

Cryptocurrency through blockchain enables fast, seamless and direct payments with a high degree of security, bypassing redtape and enabling fast transactions.

Autonomous Vehicles and Mobility

Blockchain enables some very exciting opportunities for improving mobility, and making travel more efficient. By running autonomous vehicles on blockchain, they become secure from hacking, and can even be given access to smart wallets. This means that in a future with Machine to Machine (M2M) smart contracts enabled, autonomous vehicles would be able to pay for their fuel, maintenance, and make themselves available to users, creating an automated and hailable bus service.

Energy

Smart blockchain-based contracts make it easier for solar-powered households to automatically trade surplus electricity with other members of the grid. Additionally, blockchain protects against energy theft and allows for smart energy metering as well.

Waste

Intelligent IoT systems sending data to on-chain systems can enable smart waste collection by always being able to identify when bins are full or empty. This not only optimises the routes for municipal refuse collection, but also saves energy and improves traffic management. One of our authors Prajay was involved in a project for smart waste collection in New York City back in 2018, where business districts in Brooklyn enabled smart sensors through blockchain technology to optimise waste collection - https://blog.mxc.org/mxc-smart-city-new-york

Electoral systems

Blockchain platforms guarantee the security, reliability, transparency and anonymity of public consultations, such as elections, surveys, referendums, etc.

The use of blockchain in Dubai is very well-documented. Dubai has enabled blockchain to maintain records and enable transactions across a number of use-cases:

• Identity and records keeping

• Asset and property management

• Voting and elections

• Healthcare records

• Smart city data collection

• Tourism

The United Kingdom has also found benefits deploying distributed ledger technologies across welfare spending, energy, electoral systems and charity. 

Incentivisation and public participation

To further strengthen the sustainability of urban mobility, incentivisation can be used to prompt citizens in cycling and to recompense commuting practices. The reward system also involves citizens choosing public transport or shared rides in the smart city. 

For waste, through the implementation of blockchain, civil engineers can benefit from reliable big data to improve urban resources and services which have been developed on-chain.

Conclusion

Smart cities can take advantage of blockchain to advance economic, environmental, and social sustainability. One issue that many smart cities run into, is to focus too much on smart technology and systems and an under appreciation for citizen impact. Smart city sustainability initiatives that include citizen participation and engagement, focusing on developing experiences and infrastructure to inspire behavioural change have the highest probability of being successful. 

By making citizens part of the solution and opening up a connection between people and city leaders, a smart city can truly demonstrate a commitment to being sustainable.