Rapidly developing technologies allow their adoption in every industry to benefit people. The theory of smart cities has been a utopian concept for many years; however, it started to be increasingly implemented across the world, allowing for significant enhancement of the cities with various innovative technology. Boston is one of the most progressive places in the United States, which has been successfully embedding smart city high-tech in the infrastructure. The report provides a comprehensive summary of Boston’s implementation of the smart city concept.
Unfortunately, most attempts to adopt smart technology to the city’s public services end in the stage of an idea; however, Boston has solemnly decided that making their town innovative and friendly to robotics is the best way to make it more comfortable for the citizens. The city council developed a playbook outlining each change planned to be implemented to become a smart city (City of Boston, 2020). In recent years, Boston acquired multiple applications, such as The Boston 311 app, that help residents and visitors improve City neighborhoods by reporting any issues. There are also Trash Day which allows tracking the upcoming dates of collecting your garbage, ParkBoston which enables people to pay for parking online, and Street Bump accommodating the government to follow local roads’ condition.
Street Bump App has become a valuable app for citizens and the government, allowing them to resolve hazardous road issues and eliminate paths in critical conditions. In that way, citizens contribute to the city’s enhancement by simply submitting a request on their smartphones. The new technology developed by the Boston council allows users to submit data about the road statuses, giving the city the ability to fix matters as fast as possible.
Moreover, sensitive to GPS, Street Bump can find potential problems on their own using a phone accelerometer and add them to the map marking them as urgent or ripe for investment. The app collects data throughout a person’s trip, and, at the end of it, the driver presses the button to upload the locations of street bumps and potholes; then, the algorithm determines the severity of the matter. Defects are showcased on the map once they were identified by at least three different people, allowing the authority to act upon the problem.
The Street Bump App has shown much progress and became handy for the constructors and the city council as it helps to detect path issues much faster. Boston’s fast-reacting initiative significantly improved citizens’ satisfaction, resulting in substantial savings and better governing for the city. Launched in 2012, the service underwent several improvements and versions that allowed for its perfection. Reportedly, the initiative’s estimated cost was $80,000 to program and launch Street Bump (“Hit a pothole?”, 2012). It was developed in partnership with Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and the second version was improved by multiple technicians, allowing the application to be more accurate.
Technology is a new way of enhancing services in any industry. Big Data is transforming multiple governments and functions within cities with relatively limited budgets. Implementation of such innovations significantly increases comfort for many citizens, which can be seen in the example of Boston. Smartphone technologies not only serve entertainment purposes but also help multiple organizations to become more proactive, allowing users to affect changes around them. Street Bump is an excellent example of how the city’s implementation of technology can benefit the well-being of the citizens and establish a new collaborative culture between the government and the people. Seeing sufficient resolution of submitted problems ensures the inhabitants of Boston’s council urge to execute the Smart City program and earn the title of one of the most progressive cities in the United States.
References
City of Boston. (2020). Boston Smart City Playbook.
Hit a pothole? Tell Boston with new smartphone app. (2012). Wbur.