Glasgow has won a £24m UK government grant intended to make it one of the UK's first smart cities. The money will be used to support projects to demonstrate how a city of the future might work.
Glasgow will demonstrate how providing new integrated services
across health, transport, energy and public safety can improve the
local economy and increase the quality of life of Glasgow's
citizens, and will allow UK businesses to test new solutions that
can be exported around the globe.
The grant was offered by the Technology Strategy
Board (TSB), a body set up by the government in 2007 to stimulate
technology-enabled innovation.
Its Future Cities Demonstrator, as the prize is
known, is intended to act as a blueprint for other cities.
"Glasgow has some quite extreme challenges - it has
the lowest life expectancy of any city in the UK for instance - and
the hope is that if we bring together energy, transport, public
safety and health it will make it more efficient and a better place
to live," said Scott Cain, the TSB's project leader for Future
Cities.
All data collected in the project will be available
so that other cities can see it.
"The thinking behind it is to have somewhere in the
UK where firms can look at the efficiencies, the investments and
how you can address the challenges of a city," he added.
Thriving economy
Glasgow was among 30 cities in the UK bidding for
the money, with the shortlist including London, Peterborough and
Bristol.
The grant was offered by the Technology Strategy Board (TSB), a
body set up by the government in 2007 to stimulate
technology-enabled innovation.
Glasgow was among 30 cities in the UK bidding for the money,
with the shortlist including London, Peterborough and Bristol.
Announcing the investment during a visit to Glasgow, Minister
for Universities and Science David Willetts said:
"With more people than ever before living in our cities, they
need to be able to provide people with a better quality of life and
a thriving economy. This £24 million investment will make Glasgow a
city of tomorrow, demonstrating how cities can work more
efficiently with a reduced environmental impact.
"We are in a global race and Glasgow can keep the UK at the
forefront of innovative technology ideas. From transport systems to
energy use and health, this demonstrator will play a key part in
the government's industrial strategy and give real insight into how
our cities can be shaped in the future."
The Glasgow Future Cities Demonstrator aims to address some of
the city's most pressing energy and health needs. For example,
developing systems to help tackle fuel poverty and to look at
long-standing health issues such as low life expectancy.
The demonstrator will also show how innovative use of technology
can improve the Council's service provision, while additional
potential benefits include improved crime prevention, a reduction
in anti-social behaviour and improvements in travel
infrastructure.