Smart Living in Basel - A Design of How the City of Basel Can Apply the Concept of Smart Living as a Dimension of a Smart City

Abstract

Four major trends are reshaping the world as we know it. First, more and more people are using the internet. In 2009, already more than 90% of the 35-54 year-old Swiss citizens were online. Second, ever more powerful mobile devices allow their owners to be online whenever and wherever they want. Third, the advent of Web 2.0 services like wikis and social networks lead to people getting used to providing data on a daily basis. And fourth, the world is facing a trend of urban globalization, as in 2008 already more than half of the world population was living in towns and cities. The concept of a Smart City is taking advantage of all of these trends. However, since the field of research is quite young, it is lacking a common definition. By having one definition the collaboration and comparability of Smart City projects can be enabled and accelerated. This thesis provides such a definition: “A Smart City is a city which constantly adapts to the needs of its citizens by means of a networked infrastructure and instruments to gather, provide, and process real-time data produced by citizens and sensors while contributing to an efficient and effective use of environmental resources.” This definition embraces a number of Smart City dimensions such as Smart Economy, which addresses the business and sales aspects of a city, Smart Living which defines how citizens live in terms of energy consumption, communication and interaction, Smart Environment which covers topics related to public space, Smart Consumption which optimizes the usage of resources like energy and water, Smart Public Services which focuses on smart services provided by the city to its citizens, and Smart Mobility which helps facilitate public and private mobility....