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Could Smart Cities solve the UK's 'urban problem'?

Monday 18 April 2016

URBAN living can have its downside – traffic, pollution, crime -  and with 66% of the world’s population projected to be urbanites by 2020,  it’s a worrying outlook.

Smart cities could be a way forward, creating literally a more ‘intelligent’ urban area, where waste and duplication are cut, environmental impact lowered, and infrastructure better connected via the latest technologies.

The massive potential of smart cities is the subject of a high-level conference in Manchester on April 19 led by the University of Salford’s School of the Built Environment (SoBE).

Professor Terrence Fernando, Director of SoBE's ThinkLab, who organised the conference with the Salford Professional Development team,  explains: “Smart cities of the future should deploy the power of modern digital technologies to create safer, cleaner and economically prosperous cities for citizens to have an enjoyable quality of life without damaging the environment.

New partnerships

"In this conference, we aim to explore new partnership models, the role of technologies and smart applications to realise this vision."

Professor Hisham Elkadi, who will welcome the conference delegates to the Etihad Stadium, said: "In an attempt to solve the problems inherent to urban life, policy makers are turning to ‘smart cities’, which are harnessing digital and telecommunication technologies.

“In the North of England, the advantages of smart cities are being used to provide the economic growth, infrastructure improvements, emission reductions and crime prevention required to deliver the Government’s ambitious Northern Powerhouse.

“This is an important and timely conference around discussions which we are excited to play a leading role in.”

The one-day gathering features speakers from SmarterUK, Clicks and Links, Arup, Cisco Systems, OCF, Siemens, Transport for Greater Manchester, the UHSM Academy and Manchester City Council.

See full programme of speakers, here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-future-of-smart-cities-conference-tickets-21491192736

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