Internet of Things: The Key Enabler of Smart City Development

Abstract

The major challenge facing traditional cities is connecting the citizens, the government , the infrastructures including institutional, physical, economic, and social infrastructures to create an ecosystem that enhances efficiency, flexibility, transparency , sustainability, and the overall quality of life for residents. Cities are complex systems that are characterized by massive numbers of organized citizens, government , and different infrastructures. The Internet of Things (IoT) is deemed a good enabler for city development due to its characteristics in interconnecting (physical and virtual) things and acquiring data from them. Therefore, connecting many residents linking transportation, health, education, social infrastructure needs, facilitating communication, improving government performance, and making some aspects of people's lives "smart" are the embodiments of a smart city. Therefore, the ability to collect, analyze, and act upon real-time data from cities is a key factor in transforming traditional cities into intelligent and responsive urban environments. Smart cities leverage IoT technologies to enhance efficiency, sustainability, and the overall quality of urban life. Therefore, this chapter will provide insight on several ways in which IoT serves as a key enabler for smart city development.