Thames Valley must get ‘smart’

Reading still has work to do before it can consider itself a fully-fledged ‘Smart City’ like neighbours London and Bristol, writes Robert Wood, head of office, Osborne Clarke, Thames Valley.

The success of Reading and the Thames Valley in recent years has justifiably earned our area many accolades in various pieces of respected research.

These have included being named the UK’s most successful economic city, the most prosperous outside London, the fastest-growing conurbation in the country and the UK’s number one technology cluster.

But there is one area in which Reading currently lags slightly behind neighbours such as London and Bristol: its journey towards becoming a Smart City.

What is a Smart City? Broadly speaking, it is one that adopts and promotes innovative technology, processes and business models; uses data with the intention of being more efficient and transparent; and increases citizen engagement to improve prosperity and sustainability.

Smart Cities use digital technology to manage and improve everything from the efficiency of their buildings to transport infrastructure, refuse collection and the provision of energy services – in other words using technology and data to make cities better places to live and work.

The first Huawei UK Smart Cities Index ranks Reading as a ‘follower’ city, behind national Smart City ‘leaders’ London and Bristol, and a group of ‘contenders’ comprising Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester and Milton Keynes.

The Reading UK 2050 project aims to close this gap. It is promoting business incubation units called Ideas Factories, as well as using the University of Reading’s campus to exhibit and test innovative ideas and approaches. Other planned projects include retrofitting existing buildings and developing iconic architecture to provide some of the greenest accommodation possible for incoming businesses.

The city transport strategy is also a key part of the project, including plans for a Reading smart transport card, a comprehensive cycle network and ‘urban gondolas’ or a rapid transit system to connect the city from east to west, and north to south, relieving congestion in the town centre.

All of this innovation will be key to maintaining the pre-eminent position of Reading and the wider Thames Valley in the UK and global economy and Osborne Clarke, the Smart Cities Law Firm, is at the forefront of the transformation.

 

With more than 850 lawyers in over 20 international locations, including our new-look office in Reading which is at the forefront of connected flexible working in the UK legal market, plus London and Bristol, Osborne Clarke has published numerous pieces of groundbreaking research in this area and has a network of experts working across various aspects of Smart Cities.

For more information you can visit our dedicated Smart Cities website.

 

 

0118 9252104
robert.wood@osborneclarke.com
ocsmartcities.com