City of Things: An Open Smart City Vision and Architecture

Abstract

For a long time, cities were surrounded by big walls and gates for controlled access and protection. These days, cities are expanding quickly and are becoming heavily integrated into their surrounding region, country and even within the world. This de-fencing results in more dense cities where numerous challenges arise in the fields of mobility, safety, livability, sustainability and environment. Technology can assist in addressing the issues. Developments like the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) enable us to make cities smarter. However, as with all new technological revolutions, the challenge is to make sure these are used for their primary goal, i.e. increasing the “urban wellness” of thecitizens. In that context, we plead for an open smart city: a city which excels in its smartness by tearing down the walls and gates between the different silos of technology, data, processes and organizations. The open city offers a flexible framework for citizens, companies, research entities and governments to contribute within their domain and expertise to a smart city that can keep pace with the needs of its citizens in a rapidly changing world.