evaluate life standards (e.g. measur-
ing pollution levels). They also pro-
vide fast and easy access to social
networks and facilitate government
services on the internet and smart
devices.
Smart cities depend on six pil-
lars: smart economy, smart smooth
transportation, smart healthy envi-
ronment, smart citizens, smart de-
veloped life standards, and smart
developed government entities.
Smart cities may be defined in struc-
tural terms as a system of interrelat-
ed systems. In order for these sys-
tems to work together, the six main
pillars are required. Without them,
the Smart City project would be cum-
bersome and costly.
Common Features
Although smart cities determine their
own priorities, they all share three
main common features. The first is
the ICT infrastructure. Ensuring the
next generation of ICT is essential
for the success of Smart City ser-
vices and meeting future demands.
Second, the city’s administrative
framework must be carefully defined
and integrated. The large number of
systems in the Smart City will work
in harmony only through strict adher-
ence to standards.
Third, a Smart City needs smart us-
ers. ICT is the tools that enable the
creation of smart cities. However,
they are useless without users with
the skills necessary to interact with
smart services.
Smart cities do not only provide ac-
cess to smart devices for all income
levels and ages, but also provide the
training necessary to use such de-
vices.
The Services of Dubai Smart City
The Smart City of Dubai project pro-
vides information around the weath-
er, traffic, transportation, emergency,
education and health as well as in-
novative entertainment and touristic
services.
The project would also focus on
the management of the economic
services provided for investors and
business people in a smart coherent
manner. The smart sensors distrib-
uted throughout the city would play a
vital role in providing all the informa-
tion and services in a sensible and
highly accurate manner.
Smart Cities use integrated elec-
tronic data connected via information
systems and networks synchronized
with computers and special pro-
grammes. They depend on the inter-
net and ‘cloud computing’ to imple-
ment an infrastructure and services
that lead to effective management
of education, health care, security,
transportation and facilities.
The Smart City of Dubai mainly aims
at consolidating cooperation be-
tween the emirate and its citizens
and residents through reinforcing
the connection between the city’s fa-
cilities and corners using the largest
possible number of smart applica-
tions.
Communication represents a main
ingredient for building integrated
smart communities. Communica-
tion can be among individuals or be-
tween people and business commu-
nities, as it revolves around humans
in all cases.
The optical wired networks and the
broadband high speed wireless net-
works, such as Wi-Fi and NFC, are
considered the most important sup-
port for the modern communication
systems which lay the foundation for
smart cities around the world.
Wi-Fi technology and NFC would
allow, for instance, users to learn
about special offers available at
stores. This initiative would reinforce
Dubai’s ability for sustainability and
competitiveness through employing
smart technologies.
‘Smart Cities’ Index
The smart cities index report of
the “Community Network” forum in
Dubai, which analyzes use of ICT
within 11 cities in the MENA region,
revealed that Dubai, Abu Dhabi,
and Doha respectively claim the first
three positions in the report.
The report also revealed that such
technology represents a main indica-
tor for the study, as the percentage of
mobile phone usage reached 100%
in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Doha while
it reached 83% at least in other cit-
ies. Residents of several cities spend
10 to 20% of their income on mobile
phone usage to stay connected.
The report anticipated that more than
60% of residents in the Middle East
will live in smart cities by 2030.
It indicated that the amount of invest-
ment in the infrastructure of smart
cities in the UAE, KSA, and Qatar is
estimated to be 63 billion dollars dur-
ing the next five years.
63 billion dollars invest�
ment in the infrastruc�
tures of smart cities in the
UAE, KSA and Qatar
15
November
2013
