Internet of Things Applications for Smart Cities

A large portion of the human population lives in cities, and by 2050 even a larger fraction of people will be urban dwellers. Typically, cities have aging and limiting infrastructure. Some areas have seen tremendous real estate development, yet the roads, water mains, sewers, and power grids have seen no or extremely limited upgrades. Whatever infrastructure is in place is aging and may, unfortunately, be subject to temporary use rationing as upgrades are made. It is clear that technological solutions are needed to manage the increasingly scarce infrastructure resources under the limitations imposed by population growth, limited financial resources, and political inertia. This predicament creates an urgent challenge to Quality of Life. The IoT offers the promise of improving the resource management of many assets related to city life, the flow of goods, people, and vehicles, and the greening of the environment by optimizing energy consumption and maximizing life‐activity efficiency. This chapter assesses some of the application issues, the technical requirements, and the technical solutions associated with a broad‐based deployment of IoT in urban settings to enjoy the benefits of a smart city.