SMART CITY: CONTEXT OF NEPAL

SMART CITY: CONTEXT OF NEPAL

BACKGROUND:

Presently, the debate on Smart City in Nepal is on hype. The different approaches for the smart city are adopted globally. But, in Nepal there are two different Government Bodies, namely:
Department of Urban Development and Building Construction
National Planning Commission
has prepared the certain guidelines for the understanding of smart city as discussed here. The case studies of the Smart City Concept note – Shrawan 2073 by National planning commission and Final Report: Preparation of Concept and Indicators for Smart Cities in Nepal (CS-18-072/73) prepared by New Town Project Coordination Office, DUDBC, Nepal are carried out in detail.

INTRODUCTION:

The United Nations Economic and Social Council has stated that there is no standardized commonly accepted definition of a smart city (United Nations Economic and Social Council, 2016). It could mean different things to different cities in different countries regarding their level of development and cultural perspective.

Government of Nepal introduced the concept of Smart City in Nepal through the Budget Speech in 2072-73 to develop 10 cities including Palungtaar, Waling, Nijgadh and Lumbini as Smart City.

Based on this acceptance of uniqueness of Smart in the context of Nepal, National Planning Commission has prepared the concept note in 2073 regarding Smart City in Nepal. Which identifies the Smart city as indicated by the introduction of Information Technology in the public service by public participation, accessibility, sustainability along with improvement in lives of people.

National Decleration made on the Budget Speech of 2072-73 as;

“224. The development of smart city will be initiated by laying the optical fiber in the mid-hill highway with the utilization of rural telecommunication development fund. Continuity will be given to establish the rural information centers.”

The need of establishment of new smart cities in Nepal has been highlighted in the Government‟s Policies and Programs of 2073-74 in point no. 65 as follows:

“65. Cities will be made the base of economic growth by developing rural-urban inter-linkages. Cities will be developed as per the concept of ‘One city, One Identity’ in order to promote tourism and diversify trade and business. Few smart cities will be built in various parts of the country. ‘National Building Code’ will be strictly enforced. Arrangement will be made for the construction, repair and maintenance, protection and supervision of the Government-owned buildings through a single entity. For the establishment of well-managed city, one integrated city or a valley development authority will be constituted in each State.”

The budget for the coming fiscal year 2073/74 (2016-17) has further visualized the development of modern, green and information technology-friendly smart cities as:

“92. Keeping Palungtar of Gorkha at a center, smart city master plan will be developed and implemented in the surrounding areas of Marsyangdi. In order to develop Walling, Lumbini and Dadeldhura including 10 cities as modern and prosperous smart cities, infrastructure construction work will be initiated through preparing the master plan.”

DEFINITION

SMART City is defined with elaboration of the word SMART as;

S- Sustainable

M- Measurable

A- Accessible

R- Replicable

T- Technical

Hence the definition of SMART is accepted similarly by National Planning Commission and Department of Urban Development and Building Construction.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SMART CITY AS DEFINED BY NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION;

There are four characteristics that identifies the Smart City.

Smart People: Smart People make smart city. The different indicators of this characteristics are:
Inclusiveness
Education
Health
Creativity

Smart Governance: The public services are needed to be answerable, transparent and inclusive as well as it should be serviceable to people in efficient way. The indicators are:
Information and technology infrastructure
Online services
Transparent and open government

Smart Infrastructure: The indicators of Smart Infrastructure are as follows:
Physical Infrastructure
Transportation
Energy

Housing and Buildings

Urban Service infrastructures including water supply, sanitation etc.
Social Infrastructure
Green Infrastructure

Smart Economy: The economic activities should be reliable and the micro as well as macroeconomics should lead to the smart behavior and practice. The indicators are:
Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Productivity and Job creation
Green Business

Hence the different characteristics as mentioned above are applicable in the case of Nepal as per the concept note prepared by National Planning Commission of Nepal.

With this, the basic concept of Smart City in Nepal is identified as, ‘A smart city is a city that makes appropriate use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in establishing itself as a disaster resilient, eco-friendly and people centric city.’

CHARACTERISTICS OF SMART CITY AS DEFINED BY NEW TOWN PROJECT COORDINATION OFFICE, DUDBC;

The ideas of Robinson are adopted by this report which are discussed as:

A Smarter City is in a position to make a success of the present: for example, it is economically active in high-value industry sectors and able to provide the workforce and infrastructure that companies in those sectors need.

A Smarter City is on course for a successful future: with an education system that provides the skills that will be needed by future industries as technology evolves.

A Smarter City creates sustainable, equitably distributed growth: where education and employment opportunities are widely available to all citizens and communities, and with a focus on delivering social and environmental outcomes as well as economic growth.

A Smarter City operates as efficiently & intelligently as possible: so that resources such as energy, transportation systems and water are used optimally, providing a low‑cost, low‑carbon basis for economic and social growth, and an attractive, healthy environment in which to live and work.

A Smarter City enables citizens, communities, entrepreneurs & businesses to do their best; because making infrastructures Smarter is an engineering challenge; but making cities Smarter is a societal challenge; and those best placed to understand how societies can change are those who can innovate within them.

A Smarter City harnesses technology effectively and makes it accessible; because technology continues to define the new infrastructures that are required to achieve efficiencies in operation; and to enable economic and social growth.

The European Smart City Model 2016 indicators for smart economy are adopted by DUDBC. The Six Characteristics are identified for the Smart City as:

Smart Economy

Innovative spirit
Entrepreneurship
Economic image & trademarks
Productivity
Flexibility of labour market
International embeddedness
Ability to transform

From the above indicators DUDBC suggests Smart Economy as follows:

Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Availability of e-registration for new business ventures
% of new opportunity-based startups/year
% of Agro-entrepreneurship/ year
% of ATM card users
% Availability of info apps on farming & their % of use

Productivity

GDP per capita
% of online transactions

Local and Global Connection

% of GDP based on technology exports
% of international congresses and fairs attendees

Smart Governance

Participation in decision-making
Public and social services
Transparent governance
Political strategies & perspectives

From the above indicators DUDBC suggests Smart Governance as follows:

Online services

% of government services that can be accessed by citizens via web or mobile phone
Existence of electronic benefit payments (e.g. social security) to citizens (Y/N)
% of online vital registration services such as birth certificate, marriage certificates, death certificate etc.
% of E-permits, E-license issued
Online tax filling services and warning system for tax defaulters

Infrastructure

Number of WiFi hotspots per sq. km.
% of use of e-attendance
% of infrastructure components with installed sensors 1 point for each: traffic, public transit
% demand, parking, air quality, waste, water, public lighting

Open Government

Open data use
% of mobile apps available based on open data
Availability of online Grievance Redressal System

Smart People

Level of qualification
Affinity to life-long learning
Social and ethnic plurality
Flexibility
Creativity
Cosmopolitanism/ Open-mindedness
Participation in public life

From the above indicators DUDBC suggests Smart People as follows:

Inclusion

% of Internet-connected households
% of residents with smartphone access
% of civic engagement activities offered by the municipality

Education

% of students completing secondary education
% of utilization of educational apps, e-learning services
Availability of e-library (Y/N) and % of its usage

Creativity

% of labor force engaged in creative industries

Smart Mobility

Local accessibility
(Inter-)national accessibility
Availability of ICT-infrastructure
Sustainable, innovative and safe transport systems

Moreover, the different literature reviews are carried out to the Smart Mobility with following six motives categories apart from European Model:

Reducing pollution;
Reducing traffic congestion;
Increasing people safety;
Reducing noise pollution;
Improving transfer speed;
Reducing transfer costs.

From the above indicators DUDBC suggests Smart Mobility as follows:

Efficient Transport

% of bicycle tracks, walkways
% of bicycle use
% of low fuel vehicle use

Multi modal Access

Annual % of public transport trips per capita
% non-motorized transport trips of total transport
Integrated fare system for public transport

Technology Infrastructure

Presence of demand-based pricing (e.g. congestion pricing, variably priced toll lanes, variably priced parking spaces). Y/N
Provision of payment of parking charge through prepaid or smart card
% of traffic lights connected to real-time traffic management system
% of public transit services that offer real time information to the public
Availability of multi-modal transit app (Y/N)
% of use of mobile apps developed by transport operators
Availability of GPS tracking system & remote monitoring system

Smart Environment

Attractiveness of natural conditions
Pollution
Environmental Protection
Sustainable resource management

From the above indicators DUDBC suggests Smart Environment as follows:

Smart Buildings

% of residential buildings with smart meters
% of commercial & industrial buildings with smart meters
smart grid for communication, automated control systems for addressing system outages, real-time information for customers

Resource Management

% of energy usage derived from renewable sources
% of city’s solid waste recycled
% of smart water meters installed

Sustainable Urban Planning

Availability of city climate/ disaster resilience plan
Green space per capita
Mapping of important environmental features
Real-time information on routes & maps of a city

Smart Living

Cultural facilities
Health conditions
Individual Safety
Housing Quality
Education facilities
Touristic attractivity
Social Cohesion

From the above indicators DUDBC suggests Smart Living as follows:

Culture and well being

% of inhabitants with housing deficiency in any of the following 5 areas (potable water, sanitation, overcrowding, deficient material quality, or lacking electricity)
% of municipal budget allocated to culture

Safety

Availability of disaster warning apps and their % usage
% of technologies in use to assist with crime prevention, such as livestreaming video cameras, taxi apps, predictive crime software technologies
% of security apps and their % of use

Health

% of residents w/ single, unified health histories facilitating patient and health provider access to complete medical records
% of usage of health related apps
% of usage of tele-medicine

A smart city is a city that makes appropriate use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in establishing itself as a disaster resilient, eco-friendly and people centric city.

In a smart city, the use of technology must assist in:

addressing the issues of safety and convenience
upgrading and maintenance of infrastructure as well as sustainable management of resources
uplifting the quality of life and conditions of the citizens
ensuring effective delivery system from Government to Community
enhancing mobility – Provision of comfortable public transport

At the conclusion, ‘Smart city’ has emerged in the recent decade as a solution to the urban issues of today’s world. The concept of smart city presents different opportunities for different countries. For developed countries, a smart city is the one making optimal use of their legacy infrastructures and resources while monitoring their utilization and operations. For developing countries, smart technology applications provide means to arrange for required infrastructures so as to provide comfort, safety and sustainability to the citizens.

These six commonly accepted dimensions of a smart city namely smart economy, smart environment, smart governance, smart living, smart mobility and smart people. There are different indicators proposed under each of these dimensions of smartness of a city. However, these indicators do not have to be same for each city.

REFERENCES

Concept of Smart City, Shrawan 2073: National Planning Commission, Nepal

Entire Credit for collection and preparation of this report goes to: Ar. Damodar Acharya, Ar. Pusp Raj Bhatt and Ar, Abushan Panta

Final Report: Preparation of Concept and Indicators for Smart Cities in Nepal (CS-18-072/73): New Town Coordination Office, DUDBC, Nepal

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This report is prepared by the students of Masters in Urban Planning at Pulchowk Campus, IOE, TU, Nepal.