Making Canada's capital a 'smart city'

A number of civic,academic and businessleaders will gather today to envision how Ottawa and Gatineaucan become "smart cities" of the future.

Transit riders can already track when buses will arrive and drivers can add money to parkingmeters via their phones.

Driverless cars could be tested on the streets of Kanata this summer.

How do you position yourself to take advantage of the new opportunitiesthat are coming through theinterconnections?- John Smit, City of Ottawa

But things are moving quickly.

Data analytics, cybersecurity and the internet of things aretransforming business, and cities are grappling with how to use those interconnections to help their residents, according to JohnSmit,acting director of economic development for the City of Ottawa.

Smit will be speaking at the conference put on by Library and Archives Canada and the University of Ottawa. The mayor ofGatineau andCEO of the National Capital Commission, as well as researchers and business executives, will all weigh in on what the future could look like.

"Ten years ago what you were able to do with your flip phone and what you're able to do with your phone today are like night and day, and could you have predicted that 10years ago?"Smitsaid.

Sensors and 'smart' devices

In the same waymicrowaves were a new convenience ageneration ago, connected technologies should make life easier for people, said Campbell Patterson, a Kingston-based consultant who will also speak at Monday's event.

Patterson sees a future where technology allows people to receive health care, education, and do workwithout leaving home, which will mean less wear and tear on roads and fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

Smart technologiesare alreadyallowing cities to gatherdata to manage everything from garbage, to water, to traffic, and help them save money and time, he said.

For instance, in Barcelona, Spain, the municipality has sensors in garbage bins so that trucks only empty them when needed, he said.

"The prediction is there will be 50 billionsensors deployed [worldwide]by 2020," said Patterson.

For instance, autonomous vehicles could lead cities to install sensors on roads, Smit suggested.

Broadband is thiscentury's railway:consultant

But in such an interconnected world, Patterson saida city that doesn't invest in broadband service stands toleave its residents and businessesbehind.

"A municipality needs to be thinking about equitable access to the internet, and broadband infrastructure to support that,in the same way they think about investmentsin roads,water and electricity systems, that these are fundamental to the well-being of the community," he said.

Andmunicipalities shouldn'tleave it up to private telecommunications companies to beef up networks when they see fit,Patterson said.

"As long as downtown Toronto has better connectivity than everyone else, then the people who live there have a competitive advantage over everyone else," he said.

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At the City of Ottawa, Smit knowsconsistent broadband access for everyone is one piece of the puzzle.

Staff are figuring out where to focus the municipality'seffortsto makeOttawa a "smart city," and how to tie that in with the steps being taken byHydro Ottawa and the economic development agencyInvest Ottawa.

Thatoverarching strategyis expected to be presented to councillorsthis spring or summer, Smit said.