86 Percent of Australians Believe Smart Cities Will Deliver a ‘Better Quality of Life’

Visitors check a 5G Smart City technology at the China Mobile booth at the GSMA Mobile World Congress 2019 in Barcelona, Spain on Feb. 26, 2019. David Ramos/Getty Images

About 86 percent of 1,000 surveyed Australian residents say smart cities will improve their quality of life.

Capterra, an online marketplace vendor in the technology industry, spoke to 1,022 Australian city residents about the advantages and challenges of smart city technology.

More than half of them were familiar with the concept of smart cities.

“The outlook on the future of smart cities in Australia seems favourable amongst residents as a combined total of 86 percent of survey takers either somewhat or strongly agree that: with the implementation of a smart city strategy, there will be a better quality of life,” Laura Burgess, Capterra’s content analyst, said.

Among the respondents, 54 percent said they have some knowledge of Australia’s Smart Cities Plan, while 31 percent knew “exactly what is meant by smart cities.”

The survey also asked respondents to name the “top five available smart city technologies” in their city.

A mobile 5G network was listed by 56 percent of people, 42 percent mentioned artificial intelligence (AI), 40 percent named the Internet of Things (IoT), and 39 percent said biometric technology was readily available.

For context, AI encompasses virtual assistants including chatbots, IoT includes smart sensors to monitor traffic, and biometrics including fingerprint mapping and facial recognition.

“IoT tech is essential for the deployment of sensors and devices that collect data for smart city operations, such as traffic monitoring, smart parking, and environmental monitoring,” Ms. Burgess stated.

“AI tech is another type of technology that’s widely available in Australian smart cities.

“IoT-enabled tracking devices can monitor the location, status, and utilisation of assets such as vehicles, equipment, or inventory.”

Additionally, data from the survey revealed that 39 percent saw increased sustainability as an advantage of smart cities, 30 percent named “increased security” as an advantage, and 29 percent liked the idea of improved health technology.

Concept of a smart city. jamesteohart/ Adobestock

Data and Privacy Concerns 

Despite the positive findings, many survey respondents raised concerns about smart cities.

Asked about the greatest challenges of smart cities, 69 percent said lack of data protection and 50 percent of people were concerned about increased surveillance.

“Increased surveillance (e.g., unauthorised monitoring) was the second biggest challenge to smart city development for half of the survey-takers (50 percent),” Ms. Burgess stated.

“Whilst it could also be considered an advantage of a smart city, surveillance may raise concerns related to personal autonomy. Companies and city planners should be transparent with employees and residents about how these technologies are used.”

What Is a Smart City? 

A smart city is an area that uses technology such as IoT, sensors, cameras, and data to inform decisions on services within the area. It can include technology such as pedestrian monitoring, sensors to alert councils on waste disposal, and expanded camera usage.

The Turnbull government introduced a Smart Cities Plan for Australia in 2016.

The plan (pdf) included $50 million (US$32 million) to accelerate infrastructure planning for smart cities.

In 2022, the New South Wales government invested $2.4 million in smart city technologies for regional cities.

However, a recent opinion piece published in The Epoch Times questions the “smartness” of 15-minute cities.

Author Thomas Buckley states: “As we have seen from the Twitter Files and so many other recent (and not so recent) revelations about the Censorship-Industrial complex, the real danger of smart cities and [15-minute cities or FMCs] is the potential for the elimination of freedoms, of options, of differences.

“That’s not just censorship of thought, it’s censorship of life.”