25/01/24

The city of Dubai as a source of inspiration for smart cities throughout the world

Author MIC Team

The peace agreement with the United Arab Emirates introduced Israelis not only to a new tourist and cultural destination but also to one of the world’s leading cities in technology and innovation, the city of Dubai.

The ruler of the Emirate of Dubai, Sheikh Muhammad Bin Ra’id, launched the initiative back in 2014 when he created an ambitious vision that would turn a city of four million inhabitants – and over twenty million visitors each year – into the smartest city in the world. The Sheikh noticed a link between the measurement of happiness and comfort of residents and visitors, to the development and use of innovative technologies from around the world, to improve and upgrade the quality of life in the city of Dubai.

The main areas of investment and development of smart city technology in Dubai include:

Solar Energy
Although Dubai is an integral part of the UAE, and the second-largest emirate, in control of vast oil resources, in order to conserve their precious resource and maintain economic resilience, Dubai is investing heavily in solar energy fields – transforming solar rays into electricity, since it is a hot and sunny region. Dubai aims to reach a situation where no less than a quarter of the country’s energy is derived from solar energy, in a relatively short period of time: by 2030.
So far they are already able to provide all local public lighting on city roads through the use of solar energy.
As well as financial savings and economic efficiency, the use of solar energy to replace industrialized energy reduces air pollution and helps create a green city.

Safety and security
The city of Dubai is comprehensively networked with smart cameras, which are programmed to detect unusual incidents, traffic offenses, incidents of violence, vandalism, and similar incidents. The cameras broadcast directly to dozens of control centers and include smart mechanisms for real-time alerts about events that require police and/or municipal intervention. Thanks to the comprehensive network of cameras, the crime rate in the city is particularly low, and they also help with maintaining public order and traffic laws. Very few police officers and inspectors can be seen on the streets because of the efficiency of the smart technologies, and so police are only in places where their physical presence is required.

Transportation
The road and transportation system in Dubai is one of the most advanced in the world, with close to a thousand electric taxis from Tesla already in use, for which there are many convenient charging stations throughout the city. Increasing the scope of taxis has been made possible thanks to benefits and tax exemptions along with direct encouragement from the local authority, all with the aim of creating a smart and green city and reducing air pollution.
In addition to these, the city has an electric metro system, which passes through an open urban route as well as an underground route, significantly reducing the amount of congestion and traffic jams in the city.
Dubai also has a monorail train – a single-track, electric, self-propelled train without a driver. This train runs on a structured and dedicated fifty-kilometer track route across the coastline and into the artificial islands.
These solutions together with other systems enable a city without traffic jams, with reduced air pollution, and with a convenient and efficient transportation system for residents and visitors.

Education
As an economic power and a technological leader, Dubai and the UAE as a whole have elevated education markedly, making the best use of technology and curriculums, and making decisions from an international perspective designed to provide quality education at high international standards, from age 5 through to university. In Dubai, English is considered to be the second language and is taught throughout the education system. The city is home to many different types of schools as well as eleven leading universities, offering academic programs to residents and foreign students.
The education system boasts research laboratories, international programs for the development and training of teachers and staff, hybrid learning, computerized systems for mapping difficulties and challenges, and for developing personal assistance programs.

Trade and Economy
Dubai has spectacular tourist attractions in the field of commerce, including huge malls, floating shopping centers, leisure and entertainment complexes, culinary centers, and more. The rapid development of construction in the city, along with the use of advanced technologies to improve service and manage loads, inventory, and events for the benefit of visitors, has resulted in business complexes that present promising models of economic viability, and are an integral part of the affluent city.
Many cities around the world are showing interest in possibilities for developing a smart city, creating a framework for economic savings and streamlining services, and producing solutions to known urban problems such as infrastructure, waste management, construction, transportation, and traffic jams.

MIC – The Municipal Innovation Center, partners with local authorities and companies in Israel, introducing them to a whole new world of advanced technologies in a variety of fields, to help create smart cities in order to improve residents’ satisfaction, build a renewed urban tourism industry and provide a variety of advanced solutions to local challenges and needs.

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09/08/23

Back to the Drawing Board

Author MIC Team

Humanity as we know it has completely changed. That sounds dramatic, doesn’t it? That’s because the situation is dramatic. Very dramatic. But we don’t just mean the last few years, but all the many, different and varied revolutions that have happened throughout history and changed the world completely. Most recent of those drastic changes is the Internet revolution, followed closely by the digital revolution. So what is this digital transformation that everyone’s talking about? If you also feel that you are being spoken to in Double-Dutch, you will find all the answers in this article.

Let’s start from the end: Digital transformation is the application of new technological changes to solve problems and create business opportunities and achieve a competitive edge. Sounds complicated and scary? It really doesn’t have to be. Ultimately, the aim of technological solutions that surround us is to produce efficiency and creative solutions to existing problems that expand on the traditional methods used by different organizations.

By 2020 many organizations had compromised on the way they worked over the previous decade, simply to be able to remain within their comfort zone. This does not necessarily translate to the best customer service, but in most cases, clients agreed to accept the level of service offered to them, even if they sometimes wondered to themselves: “What year are we in?”

Then came the Corona and forced all those who had remained in their comfort zone to expand their horizons and take steps towards the future, (or rather: towards the present!) and incorporate new technologies into their organizations, whether within the organization itself or when working with customers, to enable their business to continue to exist during lockdown.

But make no mistake, even with all this technology, this is not yet a digital transformation. Why? Because in the end, what actually happened was that many organizations “put a band-aid” on the wound until the rage passed. This does not necessarily mean that they really adopted the change or that they embraced a new organizational strategy.

True digital transformation requires management to devote time to formulating a new organizational strategy to suit this digital age. A band-aid is not enough; what is needed is complex internal surgery! This “surgery” will include an analysis of market trends, exploration of digital technologies and their potential, including any new opportunities or risks involved, and so on.

Did you think that was it? We’ve only just begun! In addition to this analysis, in order for your organization to undergo the best possible digital transformation, you will need to dig and explore almost every area related to your organization. From designing the customer experience and researching the consumer journey, through to establishing a smart, efficient and digital process infrastructure, examining the current organizational model and promoting the application of innovative organizational models, implementing data production processes for a broad and comprehensive picture, and flexible technology systems. This also involves training employees and developing their digital literacy, nurturing and preserving their talents, and developing their skills to deal with the challenges of the new digital environment.

If you ask us, we’ll admit that the work in the process of digital transformation is not simple or easy in any way, but hand on heart, we can definitely say it’s worth it!

The MIC Municipal Innovation Center assists the various authorities in the digitization process, and accompanies them all the way to achieving their goals.

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02/06/23

Urban travel – The technological solutions of tomorrow

Author MIC Team

Public transportation systems are designed to provide a transit solution for the general public, using a network that offers convenience, safety, and affordability to every person. It would seem like an optimal solution costing a small fraction of buying and maintaining a private vehicle on the face of it. However, public transportation in Israel has a negative reputation. There is a 4% increase in the number of private vehicles in Israel year on year, with a current total of over three million registered private cars.

The main reason for the unpopularity of public transport is its inefficiency when measured by quantifiable means in various categories, including availability, reliability, number of route changes, synchronization between different networks on the travel route, frequency, and coordination.

Encouraging people to use public transport is in the clear interest of the State of Israel in general and local authorities in particular. Efficient public transportation reduces air pollution, creates a greener environment, cuts down traffic jams and congestion, and reduces socioeconomic disparities.

The technological solutions for upgrading public transportation services involve the vehicles themselves, infrastructure, traffic management, and many other elements. Mashkal, The Local Government Economic Services, Ltd provides a platform via MiC for leading companies in the world of innovation in Israel and around the globe to present technological solutions, which can be implemented by local authorities to improve Mobility in the city, infrastructure, and transportation for urban traffic in general and public transport in particular.

Tactile Mobility
Tactile Mobility presents A real-time road mapping system using municipal vehicles which transmit information to the cloud. The system, which is installed on municipal vehicles, is designed to locate and identify problems and hazards, such as oil slicks and moisture on the road, cracks and bumps, quality of surface-grip and road-quality rating, all of which are sent in real-time via internet communication to the cloud, enabling the local authority to deal with any hazards immediately by sending alerts and using traffic management measures in the affected area.

GoGreen
The GoGreen brand’s mission is to improve the function of traffic lights at busy and congested junctions by creating a “smart” algorithm that accurately measures traffic loads from all directions of traffic at the intersection and adjusts the schedules of traffic lights according to actual travel needs and loads. In tests, the technology was found to have the power to reduce road congestion and manage traffic loads optimally.

Flexible transportation
Via transportation introduces a flexible transportation system designed to increase and promote shared travel at low cost and with high availability at every stage. The system enables the management of vehicle fleets by sharing and mapping information, early detection of passengers planning to travel in the same direction, managing fixed routes according to fixed times, real-time occupancy updates, connection to traffic information, and relevant route adjustments. The system is built on artificial intelligence and aims to create transportation solutions that are accessible to different populations according to their needs.
This system, which is already active in over one hundred and twenty countries throughout the world, has proven itself by reducing the number of private vehicles on the roads and increasing the efficiency of shared transportation and the comfort and satisfaction of passengers.

TraffiCal
TraffiCal is a “smart” digital system for managing transportation by the local authority. The system provides a solution for children, co-workers, and other groups. It works by using a digital map and an interactive display of embarkation and alighting points, schedules, and a database of students, parents, escorts, and operators to ensure effective communication. The system is managed through an app together with viewing permissions as needed, which allows full transparency both of the local authority towards the residents through the disclosure of engagement agreements and conditions and the location of the children and other data about the trip the parents.

Many of the leading cities in the State of Israel suffer from negative migration, and residents are experiencing a decline in their quality of life due to the intertwined problems of employment constraints, traffic congestion, and high levels of air pollution. Upgrading public transportation systems using advanced technological solutions will improve residents’ satisfaction, increased employment and economic opportunities, and a significant reduction in air pollution.

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22/05/23

London waits for no-one: it just keeps going!

Author MIC Team

London has always been, and probably always will be, a great tourist destination. Its unique climate, amazing architecture and long history win the hearts of millions of tourists every year. But London isn’t only about history; it is a city which is constantly being updated.

There really is no need to introduce London, the ultimate choice for a holiday for millions of tourists every year, and yet it has aspects that only residents are aware of. It’s worth taking a moment to find out about those aspects, because, as the famous israeli singer Chava Alberstein once wrote, in London “despair becomes more comfortable”. Not that we are desperate, but Londoners are definitely more comfortable and there are reasons for that.

London is one of the “smartest” cities in the world. What is a smart city? Glad you asked.
The truth is that it’s difficult to define and there’s no single definition that everyone agrees on, but what’s certain is it involves the use of technologies that streamline citizen services, reduce costs, lower air pollution, improve resident and municipal work and provide safe public spaces.
Today, when the growth-rate of cities is high and the influx is almost constant, the existing infrastructure is becoming overburdened and therefore the integration of smart urban technologies is extremely critical.

How does London make use of smart technologies?

Here are three interesting examples that can be adopted in other countries:

In London, sharing has become more convenient
London has a completely free database open to the general public. It stores vast amounts of information about the capital city for the use of the entire public, whether you are a city resident, a business owner or even an app developer. This incredible information portal contains more than 700 data sets that can easily help anyone who is interested in getting to know and understand this spectacular city better, and more importantly – develop and offer solutions to the urban problems that exist in it.
The site’s developers created it to facilitate urban improvements, and upon entering the site, residents, business owners and app developers are invited to submit their ideas simply and conveniently, after surveying the city via the information portal.

“Hello, I’m going” (that’s a quote from the Chava Alberstein song!) – just pay attention to where and when exactly you are going, OK?
Recently, we have also heard the term “congestion charge” here in Israel. Before we get upset just from the name itself, it’s important to understand what it’s about. First of all, our Transport Minister is really not the one who invented the idea and in fact it has been around in London for many years. The congestion charge is a toll that is collected in specific areas of the city, which have been marked as congestion areas for particular vehicles.
What is it really good for? – The goal is, of course, to reduce traffic congestion, whilst at the same time also fund investment in the city’s transportation system.
The fee in London is currently £12.50 per day for particular vehicles entering the congestion charge area, during congestion hours. If the fee is not paid, the resident will be fined between £60 and £180. In addition to the congestion charge, and as part of London’s fight against air pollution, about three years ago the municipality decided to update and extend the list of vehicles banned from entering the “low emissions zone”, and it now also includes vehicles manufactured in 2015 which were not necessarily previously defined as heavy pollutants.

It is important to remember that in London this change is possible, and even welcome, because the public transport network works exceptionally well seven days a week, with convenient and accessible options for all passengers, both in terms of payment and in terms of connections throughout the city. In fact, public transport in the city is not only a suitable transport alternative, but often preferable to traveling by private car. Food for thought as to how our tiny country could be improved. Because before any changes can be made, it is essential to examine the infrastructure system that will support and enable those changes in such a way that they will not become an obstacle for the residents instead of fulfilling their main goal – to make life easier for them.

Sweetheart, we need to talk …(another quote for the song!)
Usually, when you hear a sentence like this, you can be sure that it is bad news, but this time you can breathe easy (more-or-less … we’re still talking about London and the soot may interfere with breathing a bit!). London has an internet community that was established at the initiative of the municipality called “Talk London”. This online community was established in 2012 and its ultimate goal is that the city can easily hear from Londoners about the issues that are most important to them, whether it’s about clean air, municipal budgets or recovery from COVID-19 and returning to routine. Another feature of the online community is to submit ideas to the municipality. New ideas can be posted which can then be commented on or even added to by other residents.
The site staff collects the ideas, researches them, and brings the best ones to fruition.

Overall, it can be said that the City of London loves the idea of collaborating with its residents in everything related to urban living and resident comfort.
Our score: four “Big Bens” out of five!

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09/02/23

Mirror, mirror on the wall, which is the most digital city of them all?

Author MIC Team

How do you think your local authority is ranked compared to other municipalities in terms of the digital services it offers? Very highly? Or maybe, to put it politely, they are still stuck in the nineties?

A few years ago, the Deloitte Digital Index was developed, to measure the level of digital services provided by local authorities throughout Israel enabling us to measure which city has undergone the most digital transformation.

Let’s start with the bottom line: everyone needs the services of the local authority in which they live, whether they are an individual or a business.
In all honesty, is your local authority “user-friendly”, or is it still stuck in the age of the fax-machine, clinging on to complicated and unnecessary bureaucracy and form-filling?
In today’s digital age, many people are looking for the simplest digital solutions. They don’t have the strength, time or desire to physically attend meetings or endlessly submit forms. They know that there is a better way and that they deserve more.
The local authority has, in effect, the power to make life easier for residents (and at the same time for both itself and its employees), or the opposite: causing residents to spend whole hours and days standing in unnecessary queues at the municipality offices. The Deloitte Index, developed in recent years by fast-track students from the Interdisciplinary Department of the School of Government Studies, together with Deloitte, examines precisely this issue, and using the results, helps local authorities to step into the 20th century.

So how does it actually work?

The index, which is the first of its kind in Israel, is updated annually. It was developed with the aim of promoting digital urban services to Israeli citizens. It can be used to compare the various services, pinpoint specific needs and identify and correct any gaps. Simply put, the index actually examines the supply of digital services to residents and businesses in local authorities in Israel. It is divided into four categories:

Resident services
Business services
Accessibility
Urban-planning and engineering services

In order to collect all the data, the developers of the Index used a fine-tooth comb to examine all the digital services offered on the websites and social networks of all the local authorities in Israel. 38 different service parameters were examined that were scored according to the level of information availability online and digitally, and combined to calculate a final score based on the total scores for each of the categories. If we take a quick look at the latest list, we can see that the city of Raanana ranks highest, followed, obviously, by the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality. This is no great surprise, and when other municipalities start eyeing the digitalization of the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality longingly and dream of being just like them, then the Deloitte Digital Index actually transforms the work of local authority decision makers and makes their lives easier.
All you have to do is open the Index website, click on your local authority, find out what score you got, and compare it to other cities to see exactly where you stand, what needs to change, what can be improved, and the level of resident satisfaction.

After all, we’re all here to help the residents and ensure them a simple and satisfactory municipal service, right?

You can find the Index here: https://digilocally.deloitte.co.il/Home