Have you ever heard about smart cities where traffic, public services and document circulation are fully automated? The smart city concept integrates big data and the internet of things[1] (IoT) to optimize the efficiency of urban processes and services and connect to residents. One example of this innovation could be light sensors that save electricity and road surveillance costs.
The basis for how automated systems and infrastructure sensors will coordinate their activities and communicate with each other is currently being tested in Dubai, some cities in China and the US.
The future is now
McKinsey analysts predict[2] that by 2020 the number of smart cities will reach 600 worldwide, and 5 years later almost 60 percent of the world’s GDP will be produced in them. Digital technologies could become the engine of economic progress, and blockchain, without a doubt, could be one of them.
Let’s imagine how far we can progress if the following innovative inventions are united. What aspects of a city would be run by IoT and blockchain, say, in ten years? Unmanned cars and trains can run in the cities and control over airspace no longer requires dispatchers. Products do not deteriorate, sellers do not drive up prices, and medical cards do not disappear. Does it sound like a utopia? Not exactly.
It could be surprising to know that somewhere, this ‘smart future’ is being built right now. And it's not just about cryptocurrencies or payment services, but about whole cities with all processes controlled by blockchain. These are the cities of the future, and they are already being created.
United Arab Emirates
Today, Dubai[3] is considered[4] one of the most digitally progressive cities in the world. With unmanned trains, automated sensors, flying
