Smart Cities Mission - A Movement Towards Sustainable Urbanization and Development

As the global urbanization is on constant rise, it is estimated that at least 2/3^rd of the global population will shift to urban areas by the year 2050. So, it has become a priority for the worldwide authorities to seek a solution to this exponential urban expansion and make our cities livable, sustainable and inclusive.  The cities must be efficient enough to make use of the limited resources, resilient enough to absorb all kinds of shocks, adaptable and scalable to change.

Smart City Mission in India

India is no exception here and looking at this unprecedented urban expansion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched "100 Smart Cities Mission (SCM)" on 25 June 2015 with a mission of driving economic growth and enhancing the urban quality of life. In the words of MoHUA (Ministry of Housing and Urban Areas), the aim of SCM is to create the cities that work for the people.

MoHUA defined certain parameters on which the smart cities can be designed and developed to ensure livability and sustainability. These are

• Smart Housing
• Smart Water Management
• Waste Management
• Smart Electricity Supply
• Transportation Management
• Safety and Security
• IT Connectivity
• Digitization
• Energy-Efficient Green Buildings

Based on these parameters, the blueprint of Wave City- India’s first operational hi-tech smart city on NH-24, Ghaziabad was planned and implemented. It is now rated as one of the most well planned smart cities in North India.

Wave City- India’s First Operational Hi-Tech Smart City

With cutting-edge smart technology, Wave City has ensured the successful implementation of government’s smart city vision.  An efficient and judicious use of resources is the hallmark of Wave City’s establishment of a world-class smart city mission.

With the following amenities and smart features, Wave City establishes itself as an eminent township

Central Command Center

The Central Command Center coordinates and monitors the important functions of the entire township like Smart Electric Grid, Weather Station, Water Management System, Air Quality Measurement, Cooking Gas Distribution, Solid Waste Management, Homeland Security Management, City Portal Traffic, and Transportation Management, and Street Light Automation that keeps Wave City going on in its day-today functions.

Water Management System

Wave City’s Smart Water Management System ensures a judicious utilization of water. The residents get the facilities like 24×7 water availability, regular water quality checks, online recharge system, pay as per the usage with smart metering system, along with correcting the issues like automatic water leakage detection with effective complaint management system. This way Water as a resource in Wave City is valued and conserved for future generations.

Cooking Gas Management

Smart Cooking Gas Management in Wave City provides multiple facilities to the residents with minimum hassle. Residents get many benefits with this smart system

• Online bill payments and records
• Automatic Leakage detection
• Smart complaint addressal System
• Wireless transmission that eliminates the need for physical check-up of meter readings

Traffic and Transportation Management

The Intelligent traffic management system in Wave City ensures that the residents don’t end up losing their precious hours due to traffic congestion. The traffic management system ensures that the traffic flow remains smooth and there is reduced pollution in environment. The other features that provide a convenient transportation system to the residents, like-

• Smart Signals based on real time traffic situation
• Efficient parking guidance during peak hours
• Real time traffic updates over the mobile
• Tracking of transport system using GPS based systems, which to help in routing and selecting optimal routes.

City Portal/ Residents App

Digitization as one of the prominent criteria of a Smart City, Wave City has launched its own resident app that helps the residents to smartly address their grievances and requirements by providing quicker updates using the app insights and analytics. Wave City’s City portal helps the residents in various services that makes their life smooth and convenient, like

• 24×7 web enabled Complaint Management System.
• Payment on the go-option for online recharge using mobile app
• Consumption details of consumers
• Online registration of certain services
• Online tracking of certain service

Smart Electric Grid

Wave City believes in efficient energy consumption with Smart Grid system. The electricity consumption can be tracked and managed efficiently with following provisions

• Smart Metering ensures that there is 100% metered electricity supply and residents pay as per use
• Mobile app tracks the electricity usage on the go and limit it.
• Diesel Generator (Dg) starts automatically as the power goes off
• Electric faults are corrected immediately leading to no dark zones in the city.
• Prevents accidental fire due to overloading

Solid Waste Management

Wave City’s smart organic waste management system ensures that the organic waste undergoes efficient conversion to reduce the emission of Co2 in the atmosphere and keep the area green.

Street Light Automation

The street light automation system ensures that Wave City is all lit up at dusk and the street lights automatically go off at day break. This efficient street light system will avoid any kind of human error and will ensure that all units of street light work in sync with each other.

Weather Station

The Information & Communication Technology at Wave City keeps the residents updated with the slightest change in temperature and air quality. It is a smart way to stay a step ahead of the unpredictable weather conditions, like dangerous Wind Chill, the storm warning and Heat Wave. The weather alarms notify the residents about such changes constantly.

Homeland Security Management

Wave City will be a mini, secure world that will utilize advanced technologies to increase the safety and security of residents, as well as provide them with advanced services to increase their quality of life. It provides security management at three levels that makes Wave city one of the safest place to live.

• City level Safety and Security
• Public Safety
• Home Security

Final Words

Wave City’s adoption of Smart City model ensures that the residents enjoy a maximum living with the technology aided lifestyle. It has set up an inspiring success story of a smart city standards which is now followed as a suit by peers.