The future looks smart

A series of standards that map the information technology needs of cities is underway.

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With increasing urbanization and population growth, the future of cities depends on sustainable solutions that support their evolution while improving the well-being of all. The role of information communication technology (ICT) is fundamental, underpinning many aspects of a city such as security, education, transport, health and more. Yet it is extremely complex, with many interconnected parts and interdependencies. Where to begin? A new series of standards will help by providing ICT frameworks to help cities get started, and the first of them has just been published. 

ISO/IEC 30145-3, Information technology – Smart City ICT reference framework – Part 3: Smart city engineering framework, outlines a smart city engineering framework from the ICT perspective. Consisting of both the horizontal engineering layers and the vertical systems, it provides a clear mapping of the different techniques and components needed for smart city business processes.

Heng Qian, Convenor of the working group of experts that developed the standard, said well-being, transparency, sustainability, economic development, efficiency and resilience, as well as collaboration and innovation, are just some of the benefits of a city “going smart”.

“Smart cities need to meet the current needs of their inhabitants while envisaging their future needs in a way that is sustainable and beneficial,” he said.

“Comprehensive and well-thought-out frameworks help cities to make better decisions in a transparent and intelligent way. These standards are the result of international expertise and best practice and thus represent a reference that every city can benefit from.”

Future parts of the ISO/IEC 30145 series include ISO/IEC 30145-1, Information technology – Smart City ICT reference framework – Part 1: Smart city business process framework, and ISO/IEC 30145-2, Information technology – Smart City ICT reference framework – Part 2: Smart city knowledge management framework, which are due to be published next year. The series will thus provide a comprehensive model of the ICT requirements of a smart city.

ISO/IEC 30145-3 was developed by ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology, the joint technical committee of ISO and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). Its secretariat is held by ANSI, ISO’s member for the USA. The standard can be purchased from your national ISO member, the IEC Store or the ISO Store.

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