From regional townships to bustling metropolitan hubs, our towns and cities are becoming more connected. According to a recent report, 21 percent of local Australian governments are piloting Smart City projects. To further support the growing number of projects Standards Australia has recently released its Smart Cities Standards Roadmap.
“This Roadmap aims to give Australian governments and other organisations a set of clear and actionable recommendations that will support Australia in developing safe, sustainable, and resilient cities and communities,” says Adrian O’Connell, chief executive officer of Standards Australia.
“Cities and communities will continue to become more digitalised, and Standards Australia intends to provide support to industry, government, and communities in capitalising on these opportunities.”
The recommendations in the Roadmap include improving knowledge sharing and cybersecurity through setting up advisory groups and an Australian Smart Cities Assurance Framework. It also outlines the importance of governance standards to measure the effectiveness of proposed Smart City strategies and plans implemented by local and federal government.
“Standards will be an important part of supporting population growth and the safety of personal data, among other things, as Smart Cities continue to evolve,” says Dr. Ian Oppermann, the New South Wales government’s chief data scientist and committee chair of the Smart Cities Reference Group.
“This Roadmap is a tool we can use to identify how standards can further support Australian communities and compliments the NSW government’s Smart Places Strategy announced in early August, in aiding the growth of Smart Cities and communities,” continues Oppermann.
“Across the country, no two cities are the same but as they develop and grow, Standards Australia will continue to work on standards that help support transportation, energy, education, sustainability, and other sectors, in an effort to make our communities safer and resilient for the future,” concludes O’Connell.