With more than 54 per cent of the world’s seven-billion-plus population living in cities, most economies are ill-equipped to deal with the resulting strain on resources and infrastructure.
Fortunately, a city is not a stagnating place. It is also a process – and the future holds solutions.
Constant technological innovation gives rise to urban dynamism. Brand new cities are taking shape, using digital technology to revolutionise the way these ecosystems function.
Over the past decade, places like Songdo International Business District in South Korea, King Abdullah Economic City in Saudi Arabia, Barcelona, Hamburg and Guayaquil in Ecuador have redefined the concept of city – by introducing unprecedented levels of digital intelligence to homes, streets, utilities, as well as to education and health infrastructures.
The Dubai Smart City initiative is also surging ahead with purpose and clarity. Not only are policymakers building an enviable digital infrastructure, but they are also familiarising citizens with the ecosystem.
One of the main tasks of making urban life possible revolves around delivery and maintenance of utilities – power, water and traffic.
In a smart city, a network that weaves data and real-time information from all utilities into a single architecture sets it apart. This single network – digital architecture – is the difference between existing city services that work in silos and futuristic services where intelligent machines can work together, anticipate problems and compute solutions.
“Intelligence”, then, is the key to creating living environments that seamlessly tie up services while conserving energy.
In smart cities, sensor systems can track the flow and use of electricity, heat and water to the point where waste can be eliminated. Radio frequency identification-enabled vehicles, refrigerators with computational power, programmable thermostats and other forms of automation herald a new age of sustainable living. Urban farming that uses climate control in a building can become a reality. Telepresence and cloud services will enable virtual interaction, potentially rendering the office we know to disappear in another decade.
Much of this is already happening. The Dubai Energy and Water Authority is working on a smart grid that enables residents to instal photovoltaic panels on their rooftops, collect solar energy and sell power back into the grid.
Digitisation of services, an integral part of the new smart city, is also under way.
The UAE Government has made more than 95 per cent of its most important services available through mobile apps and aims, by next year, to ensure that 80 per cent of residents accessing government services do so via mobile devices. The complexity and engineering challenge of building and maintaining this architecture of connectivity also represents opportunities for the private sector to develop solutions and products. To put this into perspective, the public and private-sector IT market in Dubai alone is valued at Dh17.9bn over the next five years, including a public sector opportunity of Dh4.3bn.
This is, however, under-explored territory, which deserves greater attention. Private companies pioneering into smart cities may not find it immediately remunerative. Bidding for contracts can be prohibitively expensive and negotiating with national governments highly challenging. Fortunately, the UAE Government has set precise collaboration targets between government agencies, businesses and citizens, setting benchmarks for the wider region.
We have now entered an information-laden reality where automated intelligence, data management, privacy and cybersecurity raise more questions than answers. This is the time to embrace new possibilities and make the future city more reliable, safe and efficient.
Caspar Herzberg is the president of Schneider Electric's Middle East and Africa division and the author of Smart Cities, Digital Nations, which will be published by Roundtree Press some time this year
business@thenational.ae
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The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
SPAIN SQUAD
Goalkeepers Simon (Athletic Bilbao), De Gea (Manchester United), Sanchez (Brighton)
Defenders Gaya (Valencia), Alba (Barcelona), P Torres (Villarreal), Laporte (Manchester City), Garcia (Manchester City), D Llorente (Leeds), Azpilicueta (Chelsea)
Midfielders Busquets (Barcelona), Rodri (Manchester City), Pedri (Barcelona), Thiago (Liverpool), Koke (Atletico Madrid), Ruiz (Napoli), M Llorente (Atletico Madrid)
Forwards: Olmo (RB Leipzig), Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad), Morata (Juventus), Moreno (Villarreal), F Torres (Manchester City), Traore (Wolves), Sarabia (PSG)
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
Price: From Dh796,600
On sale: now
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
