Smart Infrastructure: Unraveling Growth Trends in Global Smart Cities and Buildings

What is the Current Outlook for Intelligent Urban Infrastructure?

The ongoing innovation in digital technologies has led to an ineluctable growth in intelligent urban infrastructure. This refers to the process of incorporating digital technology — such as IoT devices, embedded sensors and intelligent management systems — into traditional urban infrastructure, constituting what is known as smart cities and smart buildings'. This trend aims to augment efficiency, sustainability and liveability.

What are the Key Growth Drivers in This Domain?

A few key factors drive the escalation of smart cities and buildings worldwide. Urbanization is propelling governments towards sustainable and efficient management solutions. Concomitantly, advancements in technology and the falling costs of sensors and data storage have made large-scale real-time data collection and analysis feasible. Thereby, enabling improved monitoring, decision-making, and management of urban environments.

What Does the Future Hold for Smart Cities and Buildings?

Projections suggest an exponential expansion of smart cities and buildings in future; arising from the growing demand for advanced, high-speed and secure data transmission in the wake of 5G network deployment but also from the pressure to innovate climate-adaptive infrastructure. Therefore, further investments are anticipated in IoT, artificial intelligence and big data analytics, fostering the realization of the full potential of intelligent urban infrastructure.