Earlier in the month, seven Irish cities met, along with Maynooth University, for the first All-Ireland cities forum, the aim of which was to discuss the challenge of smart cities in Ireland.
With technology recognised as an enabler of social and economic good, smart cities place a focus on creating environments to test new ideas, attract investment, enable service reform and promote partner collaboration. The forum, which is not mandated by the Government, aims to discover what the best practice for smart cities is and should be.
‘We plan to share information, to discuss initiatives that have worked in different cities and how they may work in future. We want to collaborate, to learn how to best manage approaches and the best way to govern them,’ Professor Brian Donnellan, of the School of Business, said.
Challenges under discussion included governance, cohesive strategies to support city goals, appropriate relationships between economic development and IT, data integrity, and privacy. The forum is comprised of local government officials representing Cork, Dublin, Limerick, Galway, Waterford, Belfast, and Derry.
‘Any forum on smart cities should adhere to the principle of the city user as consumers and that is our main purpose – how to make life better for the inhabitants of these modern cities,’ Professor Donnellan said.