SGC_issuu

Editorial
GTAI’s markets Germany publication states that Munich, which is taking part in an EU-funded demo
program together with Vienna and Lyon, is mixing the two approaches by applying smart-city solutions
in a 350-hectare district being built in Freiham, on the city’s western edge. It will house up to
20,000 people and provide space for 7,500 businesses. Drilling has started to tap an enormous
reservoir of hot water lying at a depth of 2,300 meters, as part of a geothermal plan to heat Freiham
and the adjoining older neighbourhoods. The districts will receive a plethora of energy-saving innovations,
from electric buses and intelligent streetlamps, to apps providing real-time public transport
information and easy payment systems.
In the same issue of markets Germany, GTAI states that “Although there are new districts in German
cities being built today, in most places smartcity projects are about upgrading existing buildings and
infrastructure”. This contrasts with Singapore’s approach, which has a public housing agency, the
Housing & Development Board (HDB), which builds sustainable homes and towns.
Image courtesy of the Housing & Development Board
This comes in the form of test-beds in Punggol Northshore,
a district that has incorporated smart features into
urban living. In a press release issued by HDB, they have
implemented a Smart HDB Town Framework, “leveraging
on Information and Communication Technology to make
HDB towns and estates more liveable, efficient, sustainable
and safe” for the residents. The framework focusses
on:
1) Smart Planning
2) Smart Environment
3) Smart Estate
4) Smart Living,
Punggol Northshore will see smart car parks, smart fans
and lighting, and other initiatives as outlined below:
Smart Planning
1. Complex Systems Modelling Tool
A decision-making tool which helps planners to understand
the trade-offs involved when introducing new sustainable
features into HDB towns.
2. Smart Car Parks
Car parks equipped with an intelligent parking demand
monitoring system that will automatically increase the
number of available lots during non-peak hours for visitors
as residents with season parking ticket are out. Conversely,
it will also reduce the number of available lots for
short-term parking visitors in the evening, to ensure sufficient
lots are reserved for residents with season parking
tickets who are returning home.
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