Transport issues have come out top in a poll of smart city spending priorities, as results hint at public confusion about recent technological progress.
A survey conducted by YouGov and Arqiva found traffic congestion was the most commonly identified issue the public wanted solved through smart city investment, with 57% of respondents citing this as top on their spending wish list.
The highest proportion of support for smart city investment in overcrowded roads was seen in the Midlands, where 41% of those questioned backed this spending, followed by 39% in the South and 32% in London.
Parking was the second most commonly identified smart technology spending priority, with 43% of people supporting greater spending in this field.
However 96% of people were unaware of any smart city initiatives being run by their local council and almost half thought such a project was more than five years away from introduction.
Sean Weir, business development director of smart metering and M2M at Arqiva said: ‘Councils desperately need to find a way to harness the enthusiasm of the tech-savvy younger generation. If done correctly, they create powerful advocates to spread awareness - if done wrong, and they risk their city's economic future.’
‘Councils desperately need to find a way to harness the enthusiasm of the tech-savvy younger generation,’ said Weir. ‘If done correctly, they create powerful advocates to spread awareness - if done wrong, and they risk their city's economic future.’
Almost a third of people thought the greatest benefit of a ‘connected city’ would be an improved living environment.
Over a third of 18-24 year-olds claimed they were passionate about their nearest city becoming smart, while 33% said they would consider moving to another city if it was ‘smarter’ than their own.
