A city operating in real time

THE rebuilding of Christchurch in New Zealand began two years after successive earthquakes devastated its central business district, and will cost an estimated NZ$40 billion (RM108 billion). 

Resident and futurist Roger Dennis, who consults on future thinking, strategy and innovation to organisations around the world, saw a unique opportunity in the rebuilding process to install sensors as infrastructure and buildings are being replaced and rebuilt.

In 2012, Dennis started the Sensing City initiative that aims to deploy a network of sensors and smart technology across the city to measure a range of variables in real time, such as traffic flow, water use, air quality and energy consumption. 

The data collected can enable a deeper understanding of Christchurch, helping to improve how the city functions and the lives of its residents, and enabling good policy choices to be made.

Having previously worked on community-based water quality, air quality and health projects, Sensing City is now working to use data to reduce the carbon emissions and energy costs of streetlights with industry partner Infratil and China-based Envision Energy.

Street lighting, costs a city between 30% and 50% of its energy bill, Dennis says.

“We’re looking at a variety of ways to use sensor technology, such as rolling out sophisticated sensor packs that are inserted into lamp posts and street furniture, and we’re also looking into how apps [can] contribute information on what’s important to people.”

Seeing how the potential of Sensing City has grown, Dennis aims to use Christchurch as a living lab to develop new business models that use data to manage scarce  resources, and export the more successful ones.

Sensing City Trust is a non-profit organisation and all revenue it derives from commercial activities will be reinvested back into its projects. Its partners are infrastructure investment company Infratil and fuel retailer Z Energy.
 

Read more about this initiative and its progress in the Sept 7, 2015 issue of property, the real estate section of digitaledge Weekly. Subcribe here for your personal edition.