How Smart Citizens Can Help Make A Smarter City

Smart cities promote the development of economies and enhance the standard of living. Citizens of a smart city are extremely vital in the implementation process. The mission needs to be driven by people who are smart regarding law and civic sense. Citizens must be made aware of the smart services and solutions they will receive and how it will play a crucial role for them to make proper and efficient use of what is being offered to them.  

To begin with, a smart citizen must be a law-abiding citizen with basic civic sense. They must obey traffic rules, drive within city speed limits, obey signals by not jumping them, respecting pedestrians and senior citizens. Concerning parking, smart citizens must park in designated spots and not at random locations. Hygiene and cleanliness must be maintained not only at home but also outside. They must throw garbage, only inside a bin and also practice segregation during garbage disposal.

Smart citizens must make conscious use of resources such as water, heat, and electricity. They must conserve by monitoring the entire family’s daily consumption. This would also involve a shift in using energy-efficient appliances and switching off all electric appliances when not in use.

Continuous citizen participation is a must for good governance. More involvement of the citizens, act as a critical resource for making of policies. Efficient decision making is possible through the knowledge, experiences, views, and values of the citizens. All this is now achieved through online government portals. This reduces and eliminates any conflict of ideologies and makes implementation smoother.

With the help of innovative information and communications technology (ICT) applications, including smartphones and other smart fixtures are all an integral part of making smart citizens. Citizens make use of the internet to make better and smarter informed choices, thereby making a city smarter too.