SMART CITIES AND PANDEMIC

The pandemic, due to the spread of Covid-19, has considerably changed the way of organizing and living urban spaces, but also the way of relating to others. In fact, the need to avoid interpersonal contacts, to reduce the risk of spreading the virus, has required citizens to review almost all their daily actions from a digital point of view, with the consequent online transfer of most of activities. Technological-digital tools (mobile applications, cloud computing, etc...) have therefore become protagonists of every aspect of the personal and professional life of each individual, in order to avoid the immobilization of cities and favor their post-Covid rebirth.

But, the exponential increase in “digital activities” has also brought out the limits of cities and has led to a rethinking of services for citizens, spaces to be dedicated to socialization and traditional systems and infrastructures in the transport sector.

In particular, the reduction in atmospheric pollution, detected following the lockdown periods, has helped to draw attention to the need:

to make cities grow in an increasingly sustainable direction, focusing on renewable energy sources, energy efficiency in the industrial and civil sectors, sustainable mobility and waste management according to the principles of a circular economy;
encourage the use of particular technologies, such as: Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, Automation and Big Data, to guarantee the connection and digital development of cities.

Ultimately, the pandemic, due to the spread of Covid-19, has made the population aware that digitized and more connected cities can not only counter the spread of the infection, but can also help us to live with the virus and to look forward with greater optimism. It is precisely in this perspective that the need for an ever more rapid evolution of the six aspects that make a city “smart” must be inserted, namely: Smart Economy, Smart People, Smart Governance, Smart Mobility, Smart Environment and Smart Living. The question that now needs to be answered is:

how smart cities have fought and are fighting the pandemic?

The social distancing imposed by the pandemic has oriented the development of smart cities mainly towards urban monitoring systems and digital infrastructures aimed at the automated sanitation of common spaces. The following table lists some of the “smart” strategies that various cities around the world have adopted and are adopting to defend themselves from the Covid-19 contagion:

DRONES

Drones, connected to a thermal camera system, are used to inspect and sanitize public spaces. However, very often their applications cause problems related to privacy protection.

COVID-19 INFECT TRACKING APP

Most of the member states of the European Union have launched a national application which, used on a voluntary basis, allows users to be warned if they have been in contact with someone who has declared that they have tested positive for the Covid-19 test.

The consequent processing of the data, collected with the tracking, offers more accurate indications from an epidemiological point of view. For example, it is possible to obtain information on how the virus spreads, on which social categories are most exposed, or it is possible to identify the most risky situations, thus facilitating the intervention of local administrations. A service has also been set up by the Member States and the European Commission to allow national apps to communicate with each other.

Contact tracking and alert apps respect the privacy of users and do not allow tracking of the location of those who use them.

TELEMEDICINE SYSTEMS

These systems, based on the collection and analysis of patient data, make it possible to monitor clinical parameters and can guarantee the doctor's intervention even remotely, for example through high-definition video links or remote visits.

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

(electric scooters, electric hoverboards and skateboards, electric bikes, etc…)

The use of this type of “smart mobility” facilitates traffic in different areas of the city and guarantees the reduction of urban pollution, which, as already known, represents one of the causes of climate change.

DIGITIZATION OF THE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

The digital transformation of the Public Administration allows a rapid and effective delivery of some services, to the benefit of citizens and businesses. Some examples are: electronic signature, electronic invoicing or the digital release of documents.

Italy, according to the 2021 edition of the digitalization index of the economy and society (DESI), ranks 20th among the 27 EU member states in terms of digital public services.

SMART WORKING

This way of working, not constrained by hours or the workplace, has contributed, during the most acute phases of the Covid emergency, to the reduction of the risk of contagion, thanks to the use of online collaboration platforms. Furthermore, smart working has:

favored the hiring of categories of workers who are unable to reach the workplace and/or with particular needs for hourly flexibility due to illness or personal reasons;
brought benefits to both working students and new parents.

Ultimately, public employees, workers of private, small, medium and large companies have experienced a flexible way of working, which has changed expectations and has opened interesting prospects for a more widespread adoption of this type of work.

DISTANCE TEACHING PLATFORMS

During the period of total and/or partial closure of schools and universities, distance learning platforms, with online applications, have contributed to helping parents, teachers, schools and school managers in the teaching-learning process.

However, it should be emphasized that the digitalization process, in the educational field and in the world of work in general, has had to collide with the digital divide. That is the gap between those who have effective access to information technologies (personal computers, Internet, etc...) and can take advantage of the services offered by the World Wide Web and those who, partially or totally, are excluded from it because materially or intellectually unable.

The digital divide represents a form of discrimination between those who, using adequate digital infrastructures, can work, study, heal themselves and those who, forced to give up modern communication channels, lose advantages, also suffering economic and cultural damage.

FIND OUT MORE

Reduction of air pollution as a consequence of the city shutdown

In the movie “Coronavirus: nitrogen dioxide emissions drop over Italy”, the Sentinel-5 Precursor satellite provides data on air pollution in Europe in the time interval between 1 January 2020 and 11 March 2020, ie in the period covered the national blockade to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. From the images that appear in the film it can be seen that the decrease in air pollution in Europe was particularly evident in Northern Italy.

Copernicus Sentinel-5P is the first Copernicus mission dedicated to monitoring our atmosphere. The Tropomi instrument, aboard the Sentinel-5 Precursor satellite, allows to map a multitude of gases, such as: nitrogen dioxide, ozone, formaldehyde, sulfur dioxide, methane, carbon monoxide and aerosols. These polluting gases put our health at risk and cause an increase in the average temperature of our planet.