Temple city Bhubaneswar has added another feather to its cap by finding itself ranked within the Top 20 Best Performing Smart Cities globally by Juniper Research, an England-based research and consulting organisation.
Bhubaneswar has earlier topped the list of Indian Smart Cities in 2016.
Global Smart City Performance Index 2017, a study report published by market researcher Juniper Research and sponsored by global technology major Intel has ranked the city among the top 20 global smart cities in terms of four key areas- mobility, healthcare, public safety and productivity.
Global Smart City Performance Index 2017’ is modelled across four major opinion-making areas – mobility, health, safety and productivity – to examine the benefits of Smart City initiatives. Specifically, it aimed to measure how technology saved time for people and improved their quality of life.
The Bhubaneswar Smart City Plan (SCP) redefines the concept of Smart Cities and outlines a citizen-driven vision for the future by using technology to help residents gain better access to city services, and improve the overall quality of life. Ranked first in the Government of India’s Smart City challenge and made it to the final list for the World Smart City Awards in 2016 held at Barcelona, Bhubaneswar played a pivotal role in redefining and demystifying the concept of the smart cities movement in developing countries.
Besides Bhubaneswar, the other cities including Singapore, San Francisco, London, New York, Barcelona, Berlin, Chicago, Portland, Tokyo, Melbourne, San Diego, Seoul, Nice, Dubai, Mexico City, Wuxi, Rio de Janeiro, Yinchuan and Hangzhou have come under the survey for a Global Smart City Performance Index 2017, which was released recently.
Under the safety category like Barcelona, Berlin, Portland, Mexico City, Wuxi, Yinchuan and Hangzhou were placed after Bhubaneswar, thanks to innovative models of effective governance by the Odisha Government implemented by the Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited (BSCL) in making the adolescent girls and women empowered with self-defence techniques and ways to become socially smart. The programme is being jointly launched by BSCL and UNFPA.
“We can’t overlook the importance of the real human benefits that Smart Cities have. Connected communities, municipal services and processes have a powerful impact on a citizen’s quality of life,” said Windsor Holden head of forecasting and consultancy at Juniper Research, in a report published by Channel NewsAsia, (CNA) on Tuesday.
Created on behalf of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, the Bhubaneswar Smart City Plan proposes a state-of-the-art Intelligent City Operations and Management Center (ICOMC) that integrates multiple city systems, including traffic management, parking, bus/transit operations, smart utilities and emergency response. The plan also calls for the redevelopment of 985 acres around the centrally-located transit station into a vibrant 24/7 destination called the Bhubaneswar Town Center District. Together, these centers would provide the foundation for a more inclusive, resource-efficient and technology-enabled city.
The city’s holistic and socially smart strategy has been a recipient of several accolades for its implementation since, including the 2016 Award of Merit in the international development category by the Canadian Institute of Planners and then Pierre L’enfant International Planning Excellence Award 2017 by the American Planning Association and most recently being the Top 20 Best Performing Smart Cities by Juniper Research.
