Resource Contexts for Smart City Development

Catalog description

In the evolution of cities, the use of technology in cities creates value. With the rise of the smart city and the use of IoT instrumentation (i.e. network-connected devices), robots, AI and so on, how do cities purporting to be “smart” evaluate the investment that goes into these new technologies and where do they raise the finances necessary to implement it? What do we know about the economics of the “smart city”? This course provides students the opportunity to understand how the use of technology supports OPEX (operating expenditures) and CAPEX (capital expenditures) optimization in urban projects. Students will understand where the funding to support this implementation comes from – internal city finances, public-private partnerships, or external sources. With recent data, this course describes the financial feasibility of numerous urban projects from buildings, energy, telecommunications, transportation, water and wastewater, public safety security, and health and human services. The cost savings in projects due to integration of systems, IoT instrumentation, connectivity, interoperability, data management, computing resources and analytics will also be examined.