Greenwich smart city strategy

Greenwich
Smart City Strategy
most vulnerable to technology change, are precisely those where people are finding it hardest to
find work.
Table 3. Long Term Unemployment by Occupation
1.09 But a critical question is whether the UK, and Greenwich in particular, is well placed to seize the
opportunities arising from digital technology. A recent House of Lords report on the UK’s Digital
Future signalled that, despite London’s growth in digital businesses its digital infrastructure was
one of the worst among capitals in Europe, and pointed to the shortfall in digital skills which was
acting as a brake on business growth.
1.10 It is timely, therefore, to complement the Core Strategy and other relevant strategies with a
Smart City Strategy, aimed at making Greenwich a “smarter” borough, indeed London’s “Smart
Borough”. In so doing, this strategy seeks to address the challenges confronting our communities
and to set out an approach, which will help the Borough to meet the challenge of the increase in
population in a sustainable way, to provide resilience to unexpected events , to transform public
services within the Borough and to create a business environment that not only improves the
resilience of established firms in offering a wide range of employment opportunities, but also
fosters the development of a cluster of emerging digital businesses that will create higher value
jobs and put the Borough at the forefront of the digital economy.
1.11 However, it should be emphasized at the outset that digital technologies are not a “silver bullet”
and “smartness” is not an end in itself. Neighbourhoods are complex ecosystems which are
subject to external shocks and evolve over time and, to maintain their harmonious development,
there is a need to draw on a range of policy interventions. As is recognized in the Core Strategy,
communities reside in a given location and, to accommodate the significant rise in population,
its diversity and changing demographic, and to address mobility in a more densely populated
environment, it is essential to optimize the use of that space and its physical infrastructure, and
create a desirable environment for citizens and businesses alike. Here digital technologies can help,
not only in the design of the new built environment, but also in monitoring how the infrastructure
– old and new - is being used. For example, technology can monitor the flow of traffic and the
energy efficiency of buildings, and in engaging with citizens on how it might be improved.
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http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201415/ldselect/lddigital/111/111.pdf
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