London has always been, and probably always will be, a great tourist destination. Its unique climate, amazing architecture and long history win the hearts of millions of tourists every year. But London isn’t only about history; it is a city which is constantly being updated.
There really is no need to introduce London, the ultimate choice for a holiday for millions of tourists every year, and yet it has aspects that only residents are aware of. The famous israeli singer Chava Alberstein once sang, in London “despair becomes more convinient” – But the truth is, there are many more good reasons to feel comfortable in London, and it’s worth taking a moment to find out about them.
London is one of the “smartest” cities in the world. What is a smart city? Glad you asked. It is actually difficult to define a “smart city” and there’s no single definition that everyone agrees on, but what is certain is it involves the use of different means to streamline citizen services, reduce costs, lower air pollution, improve resident and municipal work and provide safe public spaces. Today, with the high growth-rate of cities and their influx is almost constant, the existing infrastructure is becoming overburdened and therefore the integration of measures to handle the problem – with the emphasis on smart urban technologies – is extremely critical.
How does London make use of smart technologies? Here are three interesting examples that can be adopted in other countries:
Sharing has become more convenient
London has a completely free database open to the public. It stores vast amounts of information about the capital city for the use of the entire public – whether you are a city resident, a business owner or even an app developer. This incredible information portal contains more than 700 data sets that can easily help anyone who is interested in getting to know and understand this spectacular city better, and more importantly – develop and offer new solutions to the urban problems that exist in it.
The site’s developers created it to facilitate urban improvements, and upon entering the site, residents, business owners and app developers are invited to submit their ideas simply and easily, after surveying the city via the information portal.
“Honey, I’m… going!” – just pay attention to where and when you are going, OK?
Recently, we have also heard the term “congestion charge” here in Israel. Before we get upset just from the name itself, it’s important to understand what it is about. First of all, our Minister of Transport is really not the one who invented the idea. In fact it has already been around in London for many years now. The congestion charge is a toll that is collected in specific areas of the city, which have been marked as congestion areas for specific types of vehicles.
What is it really good for? The goal is, of course, to reduce traffic congestion, whilst at the same time also fund investment in the city’s transportation system. The fee in London is currently £12.50 per day for vehicles entering the congestion charge area during congestion hours. If the fee is not paid the resident will be fined between £60 to £180. In addition to the congestion charge, and as part of London’s fight against air pollution, the municipality has decided about three years ago to update and extend the list of vehicles banned from the “low emissions” zone of the city, so the list now also includes vehicles manufactured in 2015 which were not necessarily previously defined as heavy pollutants.
It is important to remember that this change is possible in London, and even welcome, because the public transport network works exceptionally well seven days a week, with convenient and accessible options for all passengers – both in terms of payment and connectivity throughout different sites in the city. In fact, public transport in the city is not only a suitable transport alternative, but often preferable to traveling by private car. That’s quite a food for thought as to how our tiny country could be improved: Before any changes can be made, it is essential to examine the infrastructure system that is meant to support and enable the planned changes in such a way that they will not become an obstacle for the residents but instead fulfill their main goal – to make life easier for them.
We need to talk…
Usually, when you hear this sentence, you make yourselves ready for bad news, but this time you can breathe easily (more-or-less … we’re still talking about London and the soot may interfere with breathing a bit). London has an internet community that was established at the initiative of London municipality and is called “Talk London”. This online community was established in 2012 and its ultimate goal is that the city council would be able to easily hear from Londoners about the issues that are most important to them – whether it’s about clean air, municipal budgets or recovery from COVID-19 and returning to routine. In addition, one can also submit ideas to the municipality through the online community. New ideas can be posted through it, and then be commented on or even added to by other residents. The site staff collects the ideas, researches them, and brings the best ones to fruition.
Overall, it can be said that the City of London loves the idea of collaborating with its residents in everything related to urban living and resident comfort.
Our score: four “Big Bens” out of five!
