Sufficient fresh water; universal access to cleaner energy; the ability to travel efficiently from one point to another; a sense of safety and security: these are the kinds of promises modern cities must fulfil if they are to stay competitive and provide a decent quality of life to their citizens.

By 2050, 66% of the world’s population is expected to live in urban areas. The challenge will be to supply these populations with basic resources like safe food, clean water and sufficient energy, while also ensuring overall economic, social and environmental sustainability.

Electricity: No city will be smart without it

Cities are giant systems with countless subsystems. All of them depend on electric power and hardware to move people and things, collect data and exchange information.

It is simply impossible to build an efficient urban infrastructure without reliable energy access: no electricity = no Smart City.

Cities require broad cooperation

More than ever before, many different organizations will need to collaborate to help make cities smarter; technology integration is a special challenge that requires broad cooperation in a systems approach.

The IEC Systems Committee on Smart Cities is currently preparing a reference architecture and standardization roadmap in cooperation with many different organizations. The aim is to identify and close gaps and develop relevant International Standards as building blocks for tailor-made solutions.

The IEC Market Strategy Board which brings together Chief Technology Officers of leading international companies, has recently published the White Paper: “Orchestrating infrastructure for sustainable Smart Cities” to guide city planners, regulators and standards developing organizations in an effort to move cities to greater smartness.