How to Build a Smart City out of the Dilemma

At present, the construction of smart cities throughout China is in full swing. According to statistics, as of the end of 2013, 4 cities above the sub-provincial level, 89% of cities above prefecture level, 47% of cities above county level and above, a total of 311 cities proposed or under construction of smart cities, covering large, medium and small cities and East Midwest region. However, looking at the construction of smart cities in China, it is not difficult to find that the mature urban operating mechanism has not yet formed, which to a certain extent also constrains the sustainable development of smart cities.

What is a smart city? How smart does a smart city need to be? What are the challenges faced by smart city operating mechanisms and how do we need to innovate smart city operating mechanisms? Rational thinking and research on these issues are of great significance in breaking through the difficulties in the construction and operation of smart cities in China and promoting the healthy and orderly development of smart cities.

Wisdom dilemma

The lack of professional and capable smart city construction and operation entities, smart cities involved in all aspects of the economy and society, requires a number of smart cities, strong professional and service capacity of smart city construction and operation of the main body. The attributes and business models of smart city project services are not clear. At present, the construction of smart cities is mainly focused on the public welfare service projects. There will be a series of problems in the actual operation of these projects. At the same time, the main role of the market has not yet been fully realized. The construction of smart cities in China relies mainly on local government investment, and there is little participation of social capital.

Reasonable mechanism

Ensuring adequate funding requires innovative and diversified investment models. Smart cities cover information infrastructure, urban operations management, public services, industrial development, and other fields. Informatization construction and operation and maintenance in each area require a large amount of capital investment, ranging from 10 million yuan to as much as 10 billion yuan. Yuan is difficult to bear because of government funding alone. It is estimated that by the end of 2014, the scale of investment in smart cities under construction will exceed 800 billion yuan, and by the end of 2015 it will reach 100 billion yuan. Therefore, it is necessary to fully mobilize social forces, establish diversified investment channels and operating models, encourage joint investment by governments and enterprises, outsource third-party services, develop value-added commercialization of information resources, and guide various entities to jointly promote the construction of smart cities. Make smart cities into a virtuous track of long-term development.

Avoiding project management risks requires professional IT integrators to take the lead. Smart cities involve close cooperation among multiple sectors, multiple departments, and multiple systems, and face a series of management risks during the construction and operation process. Enhancing the project's own hematopoietic function requires an innovative business model. The so-called business model is a complete system of products, services, and information flow, including each participant and its responsibilities, and each participant’s potential benefits and corresponding revenue sources and methods. . If the design of the business model is unreasonable, the right and responsibility of the participating parties cannot be clearly defined, nor can the clear and definitive manner of the participants' income be defined.

The development of standards

To evaluate the level of informatization in the construction of smart cities, a smart city evaluation index system must be established to fully reflect the performance of smart cities, mobilize the enthusiasm of local smart cities, and promote the overall development of China's urban economy and society. When constructing a smart city evaluation index system, we must also follow the following principles: systematic principles, comparability principles, operability principles, and extensibility principles. The smart city evaluation index system has its own ideas, including selecting indicators, determining weights, data processing, verification and adjustment.

In addition, we must also look at the indicators: First, infrastructure indicators, second, urban industrial indicators, and third, urban services and management indicators. Only in this way can we ensure the rational operation of smart city construction.