Adelaide to host Smart Communities Summit 2017

Adelaide has been selected to host the second annual Australian Smart Communities Summit in 2017.

The summit will bring together smart community leaders from Australia and overseas to discuss the ways smart technologies can help citizens live happier, healthier and safer lives.

Delegates are expected to include representatives of local government authorities, suppliers and service providers.

Visitors will learn how Adelaide is trialling new smart city products and services. The event will also highlight smart city case studies applicable to other cities, such as Adelaide’s deployments in smart parking, energy and lighting management.

Australian Smart Communities Association (ASCA) President Michael Whereat said smart city technologies are attracting increasing attention.

“With the federal government’s focus on smart city initiatives through its Smart Cities Plan, now is the time for Australian cities to take advantage of the social and economic benefits that smart technologies can offer,” he said.

South Australian Acting Science and Information Economy Minister Susan Close said Adelaide is emerging as Australia’s top smart city.

“The South Australian Government remains focused on establishing Adelaide as a dynamic and liveable smart city underpinned by entrepreneurialism and innovation that will grow the industries and jobs of the future,” she said.

“For example, the Adelaide Gig City Program will connect businesses within our key innovation precincts with extremely fast broadband speeds, up to 100 times the national average, that will enable data-intensive uses such as high-definition videoconferencing, image processing, simulation and big data analytics.”

The date of the 2017 summit has not yet been announced. The first Australian Smart Communities Summit was held in the Gold Coast this March.

News of the selection came the same week that the World Smart City Forum was held in Singapore, jointly organised by the IEC, ISO and ITU.

During the event, speakers covered topics such as insights into how horizontally interconnecting individual city systems — such as energy, water, sanitation, transport and security — can generate major efficiency gains.

Image courtesy of Shou-Hui Wang under CC