Policy benchmarks and obstacles for the ethical and responsible development of smart cities

Urban challenges and opportunities

Ongoing urbanisation, the growing importance of sustainability, and the rising expectations of citizens all pose major challenges for Swiss cities and communities. Already today, more than 77% of Swiss residents live in urban areas, and their number continues to grow¹. Although increasing urbanisation renders people and infrastructure more vulnerable in the event of widespread disruptions, urban agglomeration also offers huge potential for accelerating the digitalisation and decarbonisation of Switzerland's economy and society.
Smart cities as the key to digital, inclusive and sustainable urban development
The holistic “smart city” development concept offers innovative solutions for overcoming the challenges posed by digital, inclusive and sustainable urban development. Intelligently networking municipal infrastructure and services makes it possible to increase urban resilience and quality of life while simultaneously reducing the consumption of energy and other resources. The use of open data plays a key role here for the optimisation of supply chains and transport while also making new mobility concepts possible. An open data policy is also becoming more important as municipal administration is digitalised with the aim of promoting democratic participation and evidence-based urban development. At the same time, the development of intelligent urban concepts brings with it new risks in data protection and cybersecurity, and properly dealing with these risks is necessary for social acceptance of the digital transformation.

Five policy benchmarks and obstacles for the ethical and responsible development of smart cities

In an effort to help the municipal administrators responsible for developing and implementing smart city strategies while proactively dealing with the associated risks, in June 2021 Deloitte joined with the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance to publish a joint report on the topic of “Governing Smart Cities”² . Representatives of the twenty most important industrial and emerging markets agreed on five policy benchmarks that should guide the ethical and responsible development of smart cities (cf. Figure 1). Based on data collected worldwide and interviews with experts in 36 pioneer cities in 22 countries on six continents, the joint report identifies five common obstacles that must be overcome by pioneer cities worldwide to achieve these policy benchmarks.

Insufficient digital accessibility in public procurement

The coronavirus pandemic further accelerated digitalisation, making barrier-free access to the digital services offered by municipal governments a key component of inclusive urban development. Today, however, fewer than 20% of pioneer cities surveyed worldwide have concepts and guidelines in place for the procurement of information and communication technology (ICT) that are sufficient for satisfying the fundamental requirements for accessibility. Without uniform standards for digital accessibility³, portions of the population are denied access to municipal services. As a result, these must be properly implemented throughout municipal procurement systems.

Insufficient privacy and data protection impact assessments

In light of the increasing digitalisation of municipal services, the protection of privacy and personal data are of particular importance. Yet in spite of a political commitment to maintaining privacy and data protection, more than 75% of pioneer cities surveyed worldwide had no established process for implementing privacy and data protection impact assessments for their ICT procurement⁴. Without the transparent and rigorous implementation of statutory obligations, municipal and communal administrators are in danger of forfeiting public trust in safe and responsible digitalisation.

Insufficient responsibility for municipal cybersecurity

As the intelligent networking of municipal infrastructures proceeds, their vulnerability to cyberattacks grows. In light of the high economic and social costs of cyberattacks, cities and communities worldwide have been increasing their investment in this area in recent years and strengthened municipal cybersecurity. In spite of these efforts, however, even today fewer than 50% of pioneer cities surveyed have designated individuals responsible for cybersecurity or provided the financial resources and authority required for the periodic review of security guidelines that is necessary in a dynamic technological environment⁵.

Uncoordinated construction plans hold back network development

Powerful, scalable digital infrastructures are the foundation for the development of smart cities. Although the pandemic exposed critical deficiencies in the expansion of digital infrastructures, accelerating network development is a complex and expensive undertaking, particularly in urban areas. In addition to the high costs entailed by laying fibre-optic cables and installing equipment, the required construction work causes huge inconveniences for residents – not to mention critical interruptions to network service. A “dig once” strategy that calls for the installation of conduits with new buildings and for coordinating construction projects among utility providers makes it possible to accelerate network development while reducing the associated inconvenience. In spite of the advantages, however, fewer than 50% of the pioneer cities surveyed currently have such a “dig once” policy in place for the expansion of digital infrastructures⁶.

Insufficient access to open government data

The development of smart cities necessitates an open data policy for government data, one that allows for simple, secure and central cross-media access to municipal government data. This increases political transparency, promotes social participation, facilitates scientific studies, and drives economic innovation. A large majority of the pioneer cities surveyed already have “Open Government Data” (ODG) policies in place and have their own data processing teams. The integration of corresponding data portals in municipal data infrastructures, on the other hand, is still sharply limited, and this significantly reduces the economic and social value of open government data⁷.

Implications for Switzerland

Cities and communities in Switzerland have also been paying greater attention to the smart city concept in recent years in order to proactively address the digital transformation. In an effort to support Swiss cities and communities in this area, Deloitte has been collaborating with ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences as part of the “Swiss Smart City Survey”. Using a systematic survey of Swiss trends and developments, Deloitte will be publishing further analyses on selected topics in early 2023. The focus will be on how Swiss cities and communities can learn from global pioneer cities, and the areas in which work is particularly necessary to ensure the ethical and responsible development of smart cites in Switzerland.