Cities are approaching a critical juncture. Populations are expanding, citizen satisfaction with government services is declining, and net zero deadlines are fast approaching.

Traditional approaches to city planning, development, management, and renewal are no longer enough. To meet their goals on time, cities must evolve to become smarter, more integrated, data-driven, and empowering for their citizens.

From smart to smarter cities explores how a focus on becoming more integrated, data-driven and enabling can help city decision-makers, infrastructure leaders and private companies accelerate their smart city agendas.

  • Integration unlocks insight and value.
  • Data ensures smart decision-making.
  • A focus on enablement reframes the conversation about what government delivers and creates space for greater collaboration and for new ideas to flourish.

In From smart to smarter cities, professionals from KPMG, the global organisation, join with experienced industry and city leaders to unpack these three priorities — integrated, data-driven and enabling — across the lens of the six key challenges facing cities today:

  • Urban planning, infrastructure and technology
  • Data and privacy
  • Transportation and mobility
  • Sustainability and social equity
  • Governance and oversight
  • Funding and financing

Are you integrated, data-driven and enabling? Try this quick self-assessment.

  1. Unified vision: Is your vision based on what makes your city different, the unique needs and desires of your citizens and your vision for the future?
  2. Stakeholder ecosystems: Are you effectively encouraging and supporting ecosystems of owners, solution providers and stakeholders across the city and the wider region?
  3. Technology and tools: Do you have a real-time and reliable view into the city’s strategic, operational and reporting data?
  4. Collaboration organisation: Who is responsible for orchestrating strategies, capabilities and activities across a portfolio of prioritised projects and initiatives?
  5. Independent oversight: Are citizen and policy requirements aligned to the activities and objectives of the city and its stakeholders?
  1. Good data: Do you have reliable, standardised, open (where possible), accessible and trustworthy data you need to make confident evidence-based decisions?
  2. Strategy and governance: Does your data strategy and approach to governance ensure trust across the data value chain without strangling innovation?
  3. Security and resilience: Is security and privacy being designed into all strategies and activities from the start?
  4. Enabling technology: Are you using the appropriate technology components to facilitate real time data sharing and decision-making?
  5. Tools and capabilities: Do you have a data-driven culture and evidence-based ways of working supported by key visualisation tools and capabilities?
  1. Culture change: How are you encouraging the public sector, private sector and citizens to think differently about their role and objectives?
  2. Citizen centricity: Do you have a clear understanding of what citizens want as well as the mechanisms to remain on top of changing sentiments?
  3. A prioritised plan: Is your vision broken down into achievable milestones that recognise the interdependencies across various outcomes and stakeholders.
  4. Policies and frameworks: Do you have enabling policies, regulation, and legislation to encourage private investment?
  5. Monitoring and evaluation mechanisms: What tools and processes do you need to help ensure that outcomes are being measured and that value is flowing to citizens?

How KPMG can help

From ideation, policy and planning through to operations, maintenance and renewal, KPMG’s network of professionals can help you move from smart to smarter at every stage of the project lifecycle. 

Our people work as part of a truly integrated multi-disciplinary ecosystem focused on helping cities deliver outcomes that support modernisation, digitisation and decarbonisation to create better places and spaces for citizens around the world.

Contact our local team of experts today to learn more.

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