Advanced technologies such as blockchain can play a significant role in managing efficient urban development and population growth, writes the World Economic Forum (WEF) in a blog article. With the economic downturn caused by COVID-19, there is a need for more efficient urban management than ever before.
Blockchain can play a key role in achieving efficient urban management by enabling network participants to exchange data with a high degree of reliability and transparency without the need for a centralised administrator. “Cities have a variety of stakeholders and the exchange of data among stakeholders is essential for highly convenient urban services,” writes the WEF.
For example, Smart Dubai, which seeks to make Dubai the smartest city in the world, is developing use cases for blockchain across multiple sectors such as finance, education and transportation. One project to facilitate enrollment procedures for students moving between emirates using blockchain is already under way.
However, for smart cities to operate efficiently while improving the quality of services, they must ensure interoperability among multiple smart cities. The G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance proposes a three-layer model to support this, including governance models, consensus mechanisms, and hybrid cloud and managed blockchain components.
“Initiatives should be proactive in their planning around interoperability questions in order to achieve the best possible longer-term outcomes,” concludes the WEF.
