Alba Iulia, alongside London and Brussels, in a smart cities research developed by Siemens

Siemens and Alba Iulia City Hall agreed to include Alba Iulia city in the global research project called Smart Cities Research. Through this research, Siemens specialists will analyse models of urban development for a number of areas where intelligent technologies can be implemented according to the strategies, plans and future ambitions of each city.

2016-08-31 17:20:26

Alongside Alba Iulia, the Siemens research includes the following cities: Aberdeen (UK), Brussels (Belgium), Istanbul (Turkey), London (UK).

The Smart Cities Research project will provide a thorough analysis on the financial models and benefits obtained in several intelligent infrastructure areas, depending on the priorities of each city. The infrastructure sectors analysed in this research are: energy, buildings, traffic management, public transport and public safety.

Alba Iulia Municipality is included in the pilot project Alba Iulia Smart City 2018, announced this spring by the Ministry of Communications and Information Society. "If you are just proud to have been chosen from many hundreds to be a Smart City, but do not do anything about it, you have all chances to stay with pride and paper. It is imperative to find concrete solutions that could significantly increase the quality of life of Alba Iulia inhabitants, as beneficiaries of the new century technologies. The research will identify the areas where technology can increase the quality of life. The conclusions will be related to traffic, energy consumption, safety, health system improvement, or the possibilities for direct interaction with the tourists who visit us. I am convinced that at the time of their application, these solutions will further raise Alba Iulia", said Mircea Hava, mayor of Alba Iulia.

"We are pleased to see a growing openness of the authorities towards technology and intelligent urban development projects, as these represent the way we build the future of Romania. The participation of Alba Iulia in this research, along with other major European cities, will have a positive impact in locally discovering the most effective models of sustainable intelligent infrastructure, but also in setting development priorities. I hope that the analysis results will help implement the project Smart City Alba Iulia", added George Costache, CEO Siemens SRL.

The survey methodology includes, among others, detailed interviews with the representatives of local authorities on the project, their priorities and strategies. For each city included in Siemens research project, three main areas will be analysed with priority in terms of financial impact and economic benefits.

"Sustainability is the main axis of urban development when talking about the cities of the future. Through this project, we will analyse various models of infrastructure and estimate their monetary value, yield and economic benefits arising from the integration of intelligent systems. This survey will also enable us to see the comparative evolution of the models, costs and benefits in various cities", said Julie Alexander, Director of Urban Development at Siemens, the department in charge of this research.

In August, the officials of Alba Iulia Municipality City Hall, the specialists of Urban Development Department at Siemens and the representatives of Siemens Romania had a first meeting on the inclusion of the city in this research. The three priority areas to be analysed are going to be established in a short time. The research will be launched at the Global Smart Cities Expo in Barcelona later this year.