Governments across the Asia Pacific region are keen to implement smart city projects. Here is a look at some major initiatives from the perspective of Arup planning consultant, Brice Richard.Governments across the Asia Pacific region are keen to implement smart city projects. Here is a look at some major initiatives from the perspective of Brice Richard, Digital Leader at Arup Singapore.
The Asia Pacific region is home to some of the world’s fastest growing cities. Four among them that have seen significant investments in smart city projects are Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney, and Melbourne. According to Brice Richard, the consultant that worked in the development of these cities, the key focus areas differed based on their requirements.
Zeroing in on a focus area is critical to smart city projects. This is either done by the city authorities before bringing in a consultant or decided after discussions with them. Talking about Arup’s experience, Brice said that for several of their projects, the consultancy was brought in at an early stage of the planning and this led to them involving more in the identification process. Hong Kong, notably, was a case where Arup was involved both at the visioning stage, and later on in the implementation steps.