SMART CITIES THE NEXT STAGE OF URBANIZATION IN KSA. A Whitepaper

Transcription

1 SMART CITIES THE NEXT STAGE OF URBANIZATION IN KSA A Whitepaper

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary... Smart Cities... Saudi Arabia's NTP (National Transformation Program)... Problem Definition... Smart City categories... Sustainable Urbanization: A strategic plan... Benefits of urbanization... Challenges faced due to urbanization... Conclusion... References...

3 Hence, the next stage of urbanization must be clearly planned with a different mindset. Introduction: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Saudi Arabia is the world's largest exporter of oil. This has provided the country a strong foundation for its economy: 45% of GDP, 80% of budget revenue and 90% of export earnings. It is now concentrating on its other plenteous natural resource to take it beyond the age of oil. It is also converting thousands of square kilometers into new smart and futuristic cities as it tries to expand, create job opportunities, boost investment ^1 and diversify its economy into telecom, power generation, natural gas, private investment to provide more employment to, particularly its substantial youth population. ^3 With the above, rapid urbanization is inevitable. Majority of the people from rural and nomadic habitats, as well as foreign immigrants (expatriates), are moving into the country's urban areas. Saudi Arabia's cities' population increased from 9.32 million in 1980, by almost 3 times to million in Urbanization is expected to increase up to 97.6 % by the year 2030, out of which Riyadh alone will reach 8.2 million. ^2 The annual demographic growth is expected to reach 0.87 %, bringing the number to about million in ^4 Such fast-growing population and rapid changes will put more pressure on the urban landscape and strain the nation's ability to retain population in a systematic manner.^2 The policies and plans must be environmentally compatible with the landscape of Saudi Arabia need to be adapted and consistent with the culture, economically viable and sustainable. To facilitate this, The Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs announced the development of 10 new Smart Cities across the Kingdom as a primary objective of the National Transformation Program (NTP). Urbanization is the transformation of rural society into an urban one. This process is linked with the socio-economic transformation of a society, which brings more prominent geographical versatility, lesser fertility, and longer life expectancy. ^5 With increasing urbanization in Saudi Arabia, there is a critical need to address the negative externalities, imbalances and boost the benefits of urbanization. The strategy aims to accomplish sustainable urban development and better municipal services. Saudi Arabia aims to take its cities to a level of sustainable urbanization that addresses all these factors. It could be one of the leading cities of the world to do, based on its plans. Population of Cities in Saudi Arabia (2017): ^6 Name Population Riyadh Makkah Madinah Qassim Eastern Province Asir Tabuk Hail Southern Province Jizan Najran Baha Jouf 8,216,284 8,557,766 2,132,679 1,423,935 4,900,325 2,211, ,030 6,997, ,231 1,567, , , ,475 Total = 32,552,336 Source: General Authority for Statistics

4 What are Smart Cities? Smart cities contain several components, including buildings, transport, security and safety services, city-wide connectivity, drainage, street lighting, emergency response, and an economy supportive of small, medium and large companies, among others.^5 In Saudi Arabia, smart city projects built on Greenfield sites are gaining momentum. The Kingdom has announced an ambitious $500 billion mega-city "Neom" to be built from scratch on the shores of the Red Sea over 26,500km. The project is a part of Saudi Vision 2030, and it tries to diversify the Kingdom's economy away from oil, which has hitherto been its mainstay. The city will be technology-driven and use artificial intelligence (AI) and IoT. It is positioning itself to be at the fore of a business hub focused on advanced manufacturing, biotech, media, security, logistics, and caregiving to enhance the lives of residents, guests, and businesses, This smart city will have more robots than humans.^7 Similarly, Masdar City, outside Abu Dhabi, is the first city in the world to have a zero-carbon footprint, zero waste, and car-free. It depends on solar energy and other renewable energy resources, leaning towards becoming a sustainable city. The city is only six years old and developing. It aims to be home up to 50,000 people in an area of 6km. ^8 'Sustainable City', is another first 'Net Zero Energy' city in Dubai, is the Middle East's first fully-fledged sustainable development. The city features energy-efficient housing designs and eco-friendly building materials. It's designed to produce 100 percent of its energy needs using renewable and clean sources. ^9 The global market for smart city solutions and services could reach $98 billion by ^11 Silicon Park is another smart city project at Dubai Silicon Oasis, UAE, with solutions ranging from charging docks to smart transport systems. It has been designed to comply with the Dubai Government's direction in smart cities that focus on six pillars: life, society, mobility, economy, governance, and environment. 4

5 Dubai s Smart City strategy has many goals like converting 1,100 essential government services into online services, deploying autonomous vehicles, free high-speed Wi-Fi and creating a data-driven economy to generate an additional $3 billion in GDP by Masdar City and Dubai Sustainable City are test grounds. If they turn out to be successful sustainable and viable, it can be used as reference or blue print that can be scaled and adapted to work in KSA cities and the whole country possibly over the next decade. Saudi Arabia s NTP (National Transformation Program Roadmap of initiatives to helps achieve the Kingdom's Vision Rapid Urbanization: By 2030, there'll be 8.5 billion people. They will be attracted (and compelled) towards cities in massive numbers for a better life. KSA is constructing new megacities, such as the King Abdullah Economic City. The primary objective of NTP is sustainable and balanced urban development to enhance the quality of life in cities and improve their livability. ^10 Accelerated Innovation: In ten years, the smartphone will be 1 billion times more powerful than now. Emerging technologies like machine learning will harness advancements in computing power and connectivity. Additionally, KSA is also investing in educating the next generation, to better align the knowledge and abilities of its workforce with future needs to reduce the gap between labor supply and demand. Changing Demographics: Saudi population is aging at a fast rate, i.e. its median age will be nine years higher by As the shrinking workforce poses a strain on the economy, government spending, and healthcare, Saudi Arabia has outlined bold reforms for healthcare and broader public service provision, including the digitalization of government services. 5

6 Problem Definition: The urbanization rate in the Arab world is one of the highest with 56% of the over 350 million people living in cities. Total population in the GCC is anticipated to double by 2050 which poses continued pressure on urban infrastructure, housing, and social services. Smart cities across the Middle East region are crucial to support rapidly growing populations, income diversification and showcase the region s capabilities to the world. The rise in population means increasing urbanization, an ideal breeding ground for smart cities. Strategies if well-chosen can ensure the success of Smart City implementation. The transformation must consider the overall city and not only a sector. Thinking and strategizing for the entire city but implementing part of it cannot work. Smart City Solution Categories: Smart Mobility Smart Energy Smart Cybersecurity and Privacy Smart Parking IoT Solutions Smart Data Smart Education Smart Healthcare By 2025, urbanization will welcome an additional 1.8 billion consumers to the world economy, 95 percent of them in emerging markets (McKinsey). Cloud Computing E-Governance Smart ICT Artificial Intelligence 6

7 Solution Details: Sustainable Urbanization: A strategic plan Setting out principles and benchmarks for urban development by common best practices is the first step. Another objective is to improve the efficiency of urban administration. The negative impact of development on the environment should be reduced, attracting investments, creating jobs and raising prosperity indicators. This strategy is by NTP and Vision Saudi cities need to acquire scientific knowledge and achieve urban transformation and balanced development. The country, municipalities, and government need to start planning immediately, as it'll be difficult down the line. The Ministry needs to set out a comprehensive plan to accomplish sustainable urban development by authorizing necessary regulations, making optimal utilization of municipal resources and forge partnerships with private companies and NGOs. The fundamental reasons for fast urban development in the Kingdom are high population growth, migration to cities from rural areas, and improvement in transportation and communication. People prefer cities for living, working and establishing social contacts and making use of the potential opportunities. Benefits of urbanization: Due to the concentration of much of the national economic activities, administration, commerce, and transportation in urban centers, it incorporates economies of scale in the provision of essential urban services. Urbanization is often connected to advanced education and literacy levels, better healthcare facilities, and more access to social services, and more significant opportunities for sociocultural and political participation. ^13, 14 Enterprises and manufacturers also take advantage of the higher number of suppliers and consumers in cities, which also saves communications and transport costs. Cities also provide ample, distinct labor and help in putting up new ideas and accelerating technological advancements. Society can benefit significantly if the urbanization occurs at a fast rate in a short time span.

8 Challenges faced due to Urbanization: In Saudi Arabia, the rapid urbanization has immensely contributed to sprawl, high energy utilization, increased usage of water, bottlenecks in infrastructure, congestion, resource-intensive lifestyles and increased industrialization. ^13 This poses challenges for addressing water scarcity, pollution, waste management and biodiversity. The rapid increase in urbanization demands for quality and efficient public services, such as housing, piped water, electricity, roads, sewerage, and telephones. To alleviate these, the Saudi government has set out several sustainable urban development initiatives, which include urban greening, economic diversification, youth employment, renewable energy, knowledge/economic cities, public transport, pollution monitoring and control. Climate: The climate generally harsh, desert conditions with temperature differences ranging from -11 to 51.1 degrees Celsius. Rapid Growth: In Saudi Arabia, government departments should implement the concept of sustainability and enforce laws and regulations as it experiences a rapid urbanization. Potential methods that may be applied include passive solar design, natural light, and ventilation. Conclusion: Rapid urbanization is a highlighting feature particularly in metropolitan areas such as Riyadh, Dammam, Jeddah and Makkah, that contradict with the standards of sustainability. In the worldwide context, urbanization in KSA was extremely fast and massive during the last five decades; being the third highest in 2000, and expected to continue until 2050 at the same rank. The goal is to build or develop future cities that achieve all the three essential objectives i.e. personal satisfaction, financial competitiveness and environmental protection. If KSA needs to achieve ' sustainable urbanization' as its next stage, it must act swiftly, firmly driven by legislation, clarity of vision and powered by intelligent technology to overcome the severe challenges that could be faced by other global cities. 8

9 Advanced Electronics Company ICT Business Unit Level 3, High Rise Building (A4), Grenada Business Park, Eastern Ring Road, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Tel : Fax : Info@aecl.com References 1: 2: 3: 4: 5: Competing_Urbanization_Challenges 6: KSA General Authority for Statistics - 7: 8: 9: 10: 11: 12: 13: 14: the_competing_urbanization_challenges Copyright Advanced Electronics Company. All Rights Reserved. 9