Technology, Networks, Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, Sensors: Milano it is a smart city par excellence, but how high is its "smartness" compared to the standards of other advanced European cities? An attempt to compare the various continental realities is the Booklet Smart City of Assolombarda in collaboration with EY, in order to analyze and measure a rapidly expanding phenomenon of extreme importance for urban realities: the Smart City. around theintegration of urban planning and technologies in fact, the initiatives and debates relating to the future growth, efficiency and prosperity of cities gravitate. In particular, the key role of cities as catalysts of growth but also of consumption makes them protagonists of the agendas for sustainable development at the level of the United Nations and the European Union. In this context, technologies become not the goal, but the recognized enabling factor of innovative urban solutions useful for achieving environmental, social and economic sustainability.
As for the main results, a first element that emerges is the good overall positioning of Milan with respect to the selected benchmarks. Like Barcelona, considered one of the models for the Smart City at European level, Milan demonstrates that it has achieved an advanced level in the development of infrastructures and networks and in the installation of sensors. It should also be emphasized that Milan is the city with the highest level of integration in infrastructure management, measured through the presence of multi-utilities, i.e. entities that manage multiple infrastructures. This implies a large potential for optimizing the networks typical of a smart city that goes well with the high diffusion of sensors and interoperable systems for the provision of "just as needed" services.
Also in terms of services and their use and evaluation by users Milan is well positioned and Barcelona remains the main benchmark. Like the Catalan city, Milan has a wide range of services and applications in a smart key, which is characterized by a good perception of the city by "city users". In fact, the positioning for the quality of public services is good, thanks in particular to excellent scores from the official App of the city and from online payment services. The assessment of the quality of mobility is also positive, for which Barcelona excels, however. In terms of tourism and leisure, Milan enjoys a high score in the App for tourism and an international qualification as a shopping city.
Dark elements, on the other hand, clearly concern the environment, both at an infrastructural and qualitative level. In particular, Milan is below the benchmarks for green areas and air quality.
In terms of working method, the Booklet focuses on the level of smartness of Milan in comparison with the other 4 capital cities of the most productive manufacturing regions at European level: Barcelona (Catalonia), Lyon (Rhône-Alpes), Monaco of Bavaria (Bayern) e Stuttgart (Baden-Wurttemberg). The total of 112 indicators collected is organized according to an analysis framework that reflects the architectural vision of the Smart City adopted by EY and is structured as follows:
- 4 integrated layers (Infrastructures and networks, Sensors, Service Delivery Platform, Applications and Services), through which the Smart City is designed and built;
- 2 additional areas, which concern on the one hand the city's ability to provide a strategic vision and planning framework for the path undertaken towards the smart city (Vision and Strategy), on the other the quality of life resulting from the use and perception of smart services by citizens (smart citizen and city livability).
For further information, the Complete booklet.
