Residents to have their say on new Smart City Strategy
Date published: 10 April 2018
Townsville City Council is developing a Smart City Strategy, which will help to create new economic opportunities, improve our lifestyle and boost efficiency.
The Strategy will be developed with feedback from the community about how the future of Townsville should look.
The Smart City Strategy is a key initiative of the Australian Government’s Townsville City Deal agreement and is part of a broader policy commitment by Council to stimulate the local economy and support lifestyle opportunities in the city.
Mayor Jenny Hill said Smart Cities around the world were reaping the benefits.
“We want to discover which ways Townsville can get the most benefit from implementing a Smart City Strategy – and that’s why we want to hear from you,” Cr Hill said.
“The benefits could boost our economy, improve our North Queensland lifestyle and make interactions with Council even simpler and easier.
“By investing in a plan to embrace technological solutions we can provide better, more responsive services to the community, and provide business with the information they need to start and grow.”
The Smart City Strategy will potentially assist the community in multiple ways such as smart water meters that will be able to collect and provide real time data to residents on their water use or detect leaks.
Other potential future examples include smarter use of city parking data, and service queue lengths so people can make real time decisions about where and how to access services including tips.
Cr Hill said Council data is a valuable but underused resource that could be better understood how to get the maximum benefit for the community.
Projects under consideration as part of the strategy include:
- Technology to detect water leaks,
- Online dashboards for the community to monitor Council’s performance,
- Transacting more Council services online
- Making Townsville a more attractive place to relocate, study and build a business using a data driven campaign to highlight the benefits
- Reinvigorate the CBD using innovative technologies, including special event lighting
