Three Cities Tackling Heatwaves with Innovative Solutions

Rising temperatures in cities pose a significant threat to residents' well-being and quality of life. Governments worldwide are embracing innovative strategies to counter this phenomenon. These approaches range from educating people on protection measures, as demonstrated in Melbourne, Australia, to creating urban green spaces that mitigate heat and pollution, as witnessed in Paris, France. Additionally, solutions like awnings are being implemented, as observed in Seville, Spain.

Climate change stands as a major challenge due to its profound impact on both the planet and its inhabitants. Meteorological shifts are breaking records in storm intensity, flooding severity, drought duration, and notably, surging temperatures and extreme heatwaves.

The term "heatwave" lacks a universal definition due to its correlation with specific regional climates and residents' adaptability. Nonetheless, it generally denotes periods when temperatures surge beyond the norm, triggering environmental and health repercussions. These events can extend for days or even weeks, often accompanied by high humidity, imperilling people's well-being and ecosystems alike.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention underscore the spectrum of health risks posed by heatwaves, from heat exhaustion to sunstroke to respiratory ailments, which can result in death or permanent disability. Certain demographic groups, such as children, the elderly, those with chronic illnesses, low-income individuals, and outdoor labourers, are particularly vulnerable.

With distress calls mounting for a viable solution, experiments have come to the fore. One of the pioneering efforts emerged in Australia, a country accustomed to its harsh conditions. Melbourne, in partnership with a climate-focused private company, has launched a ground-breaking project. They are developing a heat risk mapping tool that merges climate data with societal information, aiming to plan responses and protect those most susceptible.

Melbourne faces rising temperatures and an elevated risk of wildfires, leading to significant casualties, property damage, and harm to wildlife in Australia.

To fortify the city's defences against heatwaves, the Melbourne City Council has established the role of 'Chief Heat Officer.' This role is dedicated to crafting resilience strategies and devising community outreach plans. Remarkably, Melbourne stands as the first city in Australia and the sixth worldwide to adopt such a position.

Prior studies by local authorities and research institutions tracked heatwave occurrences, linking them to hospitalisation and mortality rates. The findings were then juxtaposed with weather forecasts, which predict up to 16 annual heatwaves before mid-century.

The risks associated with heatwaves are most pronounced in cities grappling with another phenomenon known as the "urban heat island" effect. This concept stems from the idea that cities tend to be hotter than their surroundings due to their surfaces being covered with impermeable materials like concrete. These surfaces absorb heat during the day and gradually release it at night, creating a persistent state of elevated temperatures in the absence of natural vegetation cover.

To address this challenge, the City Council has initiated a green campaign. This initiative involves the planting of over 3,000 trees and the composting of nearly 2,500 tonnes of organic waste, with active participation from 23,000 local families.

In Paris, France, the local council has established 800 "cool islands," featuring parks, gardens, swimming pools, and museums adorned with lush greenery. These islands are strategically located to ensure that each resident can reach one within a brief seven-minute stroll.

With this in mind, the city has created a mapping application to assist residents in locating the nearest cool spot to escape high temperatures. The app offers details about each location, including its operating hours and maintenance status. Additionally, Paris has ambitious plans to plant 170,000 new trees by 2026.

In Seville, Spain, where summer temperatures surge to 40 degrees Celsius and tourist influx reaches hundreds of thousands, the City Council has embraced a "policy of shade." Since the 1990s, it has engaged private contractors to install awnings over the historic and heritage streets to provide shade and protection for pedestrians. Recently, authorities adopted a new approach by awarding a contract to a private company with a budget of nearly one million euros for the installation and maintenance of new awnings while retaining ownership. The city also increased the number of fountains in public squares, enhanced greenery, aiming to plant 5,000 trees annually, and is gradually transforming the construction sector by promoting the use of heat-reflecting materials.

While Melbourne focuses on enhancing society's resilience to climate change, Paris is committed to providing its residents a refreshing window of air, 2-4°C cooler, as a break from the bustling Parisian lifestyle.

Meanwhile, Seville is dedicated to delivering a more enjoyable experience for tourists, promoting healthier living conditions for its citizens, and implementing sustainable measures to combat the ongoing temperature rise.

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German Cities Solve Complex Challenges with Digital Twins

With an eye toward future sustainable development, the German government is working across all levels to foster the creation of digital twins. Collaborating with the private sector, the government is leveraging these innovative models to bolster the railway network, optimise water management, and enhance overall quality of life.

City planners and urban developers are grappling with one of the most intricate tasks in history, making decisions that reverberate across millions of lives while juggling a myriad of data points with minimal room for error.

Amidst the rapid urbanisation and population growth witnessed in cities, a cascade of human, environmental, and cultural challenges have surfaced. These include economic stagnation, environmental pollution, health and psychological strains from epidemics, escalating climate change consequences, traffic gridlocks, noise pollution, water scarcity, and pervasive inequalities. Furthermore, cities are facing heightened occurrences of natural disasters, like floods, storms, and rising water levels. These intricate predicaments necessitate innovative technologies to help city planners envision and evaluate future urban projects alongside their repercussions on diverse sectors.

One such technology is available in Germany, where it serves both central and local governments. This technology, known as digital twins, involves the creation of virtual models for places or objects, powered by information technology systems encompassing digital identification, machine perception, networking, universal computing, and intelligent control, among others. These twins mirror the original in three dimensions, facilitating testing of new projects across diverse scenarios and yielding precise predictions about potential outcomes of proposed changes on the ground.

Digital twins serve a multitude of purposes. They enhance infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, water systems, and energy networks, and provide emergency services, firefighting, and ambulance teams with accurate, comprehensive data for finely tuned responses.

Germany's federal government has launched the Connected Urban Twins project – part of a larger series of smart city pilot projects. Led by Hamburg and involving Leipzig and Munich, this endeavour constructs centralised platforms for city data and digital twin development. The benefits of this project extend beyond these three cities, offering support to urban areas and municipalities in harnessing digitalisation's potential to realise sustainable urban development.

By 2025, Hamburg, Leipzig, and Munich will each have invested over 10 million euros into crafting their digital twins, drawing from five core resources:

Geo Base Data: The basis of an Urban Digital Twin, defining the spatial references, enabling persistent, interdisciplinary relationships between diverse information sets, and thus creating an unambiguous interpretive space.

Specialised Data: Application-specific data, including information on construction projects, environmental protection, or demographic status.

Analysis: Analytical tools to interpret data. Analyses can be carried out interactively, through visualisations, or, in simulations, their operation may be fully or partially automated.

Applications: Faces of Urban Digital Twins vis-à-vis customers. Data provided via interfaces is presented in visual form, suitable for human-machine interaction. Analysis components can be integrated into applications as fixed components, or they can be used as individual components.

Geo Base Twin: The intelligent network that combines all information and data analysis methods, offering a comprehensive and reliable perspective.

Digital twins, when infused with real-time data collected through real-world platforms or city sensors, facilitate the comprehensive visualisation of diverse scenarios. Germany's ambition, at both the federal and local government levels, is to attain this capability through its support for the programme. Its comprehensive strategy has been inspired by the remarkable success of digital twin applications in realising substantial advantages in terms of sustainability, heightened efficiency, and enhanced safety.

Germany is designing a digital twin for its 33,000-kilometre railway network – the largest in Western Europe. The aim is to boost network capacity without extending new tracks and to introduce automated train operation. This involves crafting an accurate simulation of the entire system, including tracks traversing cities and towns, trip schedules, and roughly 6,000 stations.

In Stuttgart, the local government collaborates with private-sector partners to forge its own digital twin. The goal is to monitor water and sewage systems, particularly for flood drainage, assess traffic networks, and trial new strategies for managing public parking facilities.

The management of Germany's railway network is set to boost safety, accident prevention, network efficiency, and customer satisfaction, while reducing carbon footprint and costs. In essence, Germany seeks to shape the future of railways across Europe as a whole.

This technology serves to elevate urban activities, rendering them safer and more efficient. It ensures that residents benefit from greater convenience, inclusivity, and equity in their daily services. Additionally, it helps preserve a healthy environment and fulfil commitments related to climate change.

Most significantly, digital twins open up new horizons for achieving sustainable development by seamlessly integrating digital technology innovations with on-the-ground work mechanisms.

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Governments Utilising Innovation to Fight Distracted Driving

To combat distracted driving, one of the leading causes of road accidents worldwide, numerous governments in Europe and America have turned to smart cameras powered by artificial intelligence (AI). These cameras monitor traffic violations and seamlessly integrate with stringent regulations that leave no room for drivers who prioritise distractions over their own safety and that of others.

The sight of a driver holding the steering wheel in one hand and their smartphone in the other has become a common occurrence, symbolising one aspect of the larger issue of distracted driving.

This term includes any activity that diverts a motorist’s attention from the road ahead, ranging from engaging in conversations with passengers and changing radio stations to using GPS devices and texting. Among these distractions, texting is the most prevalent and dangerous, as it demands significant cognitive focus and causes drivers to take their eyes off the road, leading to a loss of situational awareness. It is responsible for a significant proportion of traffic accidents worldwide, resulting in severe consequences. In the United States, for instance, research conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reveals that phone-related distractions result in the deaths of nine individuals and injuries to over 1,000 others on a daily basis.

The European Union has also conducted studies on driver distraction, revealing that 25% of car accidents are attributed to this factor. These findings have sparked the interest of countries like Germany that had not previously focused on studying or compiling official statistics on this issue. In response to the alarming global statistics, German police conducted widespread, unannounced inspections across the country. These inspections resulted in the identification of over 3,000 drivers using their smartphones while driving, and approximately 10,000 drivers engaged in other forms of distraction. In just a matter of hours, the police were able to stop more than 51,000 vehicles.

Distracted driving is a prevalent issue that extends beyond Europe and America, affecting most countries worldwide. Governments are actively seeking solutions to combat this problem, from national awareness campaigns, to strict laws and fines, to the utilisation of advanced technologies.

In the UK, for example, the police, fire and emergency departments in Devon and Cornwall have integrated surveillance technologies with AI to enhance road safety. The cameras in both counties monitor the movement of cars and identify potential violations such as mobile phone use, failure to wear a seatbelt, or exceeding the speed limit. Once the AI algorithms detect any violation, the driver is automatically notified.

The implementation of this technology follows research conducted by UK authorities, revealing that 55% of Britons frequently witness instances of cell phone use or seatbelt non-compliance, while 81% of respondents expressed the need for enhanced law enforcement in these matters.

Similar findings were observed in Belgium, where random monitoring showed that 5% of Belgian drivers were using their phones while driving.

In Antwerp, the Belgian government launched a similar experiment to the one implemented in the UK to automatically detect drivers holding their phones using smart cameras. In this experiment, pictures are taken through the windshield and driver's window. Unlike the previous trial, the determination of violations is not solely reliant on AI assessment but is subject to review by human employees. Currently, these violations do not result in financial fines, as the federal government is in the process of developing a new law to enforce penalties for such behaviour.

However, according to the European Transport Safety Council, the first European Union (EU) Member State to do so is the Netherlands, where authorities installed cameras that operate day and night in all weather conditions, taking photographs of every car that passes before them. Images, which are taken diagonally downwards, capture the driver’s hands and license plate, but not their head. The Netherlands has been a leader in addressing the issue of distracted driving, implementing a ban on the use of mobile phones while driving cars and motorcycles as early as 2002. Furthermore, in 2019, the ban was expanded to encompass all other portable electronic devices, such as tablets, music players, and navigation systems.

In Germany, the government has been working on its official data and amending relevant laws and accident reporting systems. It has incorporated distracted driving as a new classification. To gather evidence for such incidents, Germany too has resorted to technology. It has employed cameras that see into the car and quickly scan the hand position of the driver, which ideally should remain on the steering wheel. If the driver is detected holding a device, they will be fined and get one demerit point on their license. To further train AI network, any suspicious hand positions will be photographed, and the photo will be evaluated by humans.

In order to address the privacy concerns associated with these technologies, the German government has used cameras that are incapable of facial recognition and exclusively transmit their images to traffic safety authorities.

Undoubtedly, the root cause of the issue remains the primary challenge for governments, as human behaviour is inherently difficult to control. Even in the most civilised societies, drivers will always attempt to find ways to bypass censorship. For example, they might place their phone near the car door or mount it discreetly to avoid detection by cameras.

Transforming societies requires long-term efforts, and it is precisely what these initiatives aim to achieve. Their objective goes beyond merely monitoring and punishing violators. The ultimate goal is to enhance the overall driver culture and foster greater compliance with traffic laws, leading to safer and more dependable transportation networks.

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Seoul Launches World’s First Public Service Platform in Metaverse

To be at the forefront of a growing trend, the government of Seoul, the bustling metropolis of South Korea, has broadened its services to, literally, another dimension. It has launched the first platform of its kind that provides public services virtually, which will gradually expand to keep pace with the latest developments and relieve citizens of the burdens of traditional methods.

Ever since the term ‘metaverse’ emerged, there has been widespread speculation about its potential significance, not just for the internet, but for the entire human race. This concept integrates physical, virtual and augmented reality, creating virtual spaces that allow people to engage in activities such as communication, learning, work and shopping, all without the need for physical presence.

In fact, technological advancements have brought about social changes that are now integral to our lives. The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the challenges we face in today's world. In response, governments are compelled to explore new concepts and modern approaches to address the needs of their citizens. Their goal is to assist individuals in overcoming the limitations posed by time, location and language, as well as physical and health issues.

It took Seoul Metropolitan Government nearly a year and a half to strategise its next move. In late 2021, the government unveiled its intention to transform public services by adopting a completely new approach. Launching a comprehensive five-year plan, it aims to become the world's first local government to establish a fully virtualised platform, kickstarting the metaverse race. This visionary platform will serve as a "remote" communication channel, catering specifically to the needs of younger generations, who are now an influential mainstream of society.

With the recent launch of the first phase, this platform enables the city to deliver a wide range of municipal services. These services encompass administrative, economic, tax, and educational domains, with plans for future expansion to include cultural, tourism, and other offerings.

To provide citizens with convenient access, the platform is seamlessly integrated with a smartphone application. Through this application, individuals can easily create an account by entering their data and uploading necessary documents, such as their personal identity, proof of health insurance payment, medical records, and other relevant information. This process ensures the protection of their private information from potential hackers.

The platform has replicated Seoul Square, a large green space in front of the city hall in central Seoul, along with the city's top 10 tourism hotspots. It also offers virtual social events for users to engage in, a library of electronic books, and dedicated spaces for fintech companies to advertise and check out one another. Additionally, there is a designated space for discussing legal matters and exchanging insights on human resources management.

In addition to communication networks, the platform connects businesses with potential customers, both domestically and internationally, via chatting, voice and video calls, in addition to a real-time translation service.

Another pillar of the platform is a space for youth, where they can share their daily concerns and seek help from professionals, especially when they feel reluctant to attend in-person psychotherapy sessions. Additionally, the platform includes a virtual replica of the mayor’s office, where visitors can submit a proposal or just give the mayor a casual greeting anytime.

New content on public safety, real estate, a support centre for foreigners, and another to support socially vulnerable groups, including those with disabilities, is being prepared. The platform will also present virtual versions of Seoul's most renowned events, such as the Seoul Lantern Festival, allowing individuals from all around the world to enjoy these cultural activities regardless of their geographical location.

At the technical level, the government has extended bridges of cooperation with major developers and adopted cutting-edge technology, including blockchain and cloud computing, to create avatars for employees.

Similar to any virtual space, this platform encounters the challenge of ensuring security and preventing potential misuse for illegal activities, harassment, hate speech, or bullying. To address these concerns, the platform has implemented a comprehensive code of ethics. The platform automatically prohibits offensive imagery and insults, while empowering users to report any violations of moral and ethical standards.

Alongside the legally binding code, the Ministry of Science and ICT has developed guidelines that are hoped to establish a strong foundation for user behaviour on the platform. These guidelines are built upon core values, including sincere identity, safe experience, and sustainable prosperity. Furthermore, they prioritise authenticity, autonomy, reciprocity, respect for privacy, fairness, personal information protection, inclusiveness, and responsibility for the future.

The business and investment landscape of the metaverse industry involves several risks, presenting an additional challenge for the Korean government. However, the government is committed to actively supporting domestic companies engaged in the metaverse, including facilitating mergers and acquisitions. To this end, the government has established a fund for metaverse growth totalling more than $30 million. The aim is to assist large enterprises interested in the metaverse industry enter this world.

On the other hand, technological knowledge is not accessible to everyone. This means that unless based on careful planning, a shift of this magnitude may deepen inequality in society. Also, some groups may face financial barriers to acquiring the necessary equipment to utilise the platform, as the cost of certain devices can amount to several hundred dollars.

However, considering Korea's track record in the digital realm, it is probable that policymakers will find ways to ensure equitable access to these services and enhance the quality of life for all individuals. As a result, the Seoul government is poised to become the first Korean government to implement a medium- to long-term plan to embrace the metaverse as part of its Vision 2030, which aims to enhance social mobility among citizens and elevate the city's global competitiveness.

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How Augmented Reality is Used for Better City Experience

After scientists and developers invented augmented reality (AR), many cities began using its applications to boost tourism, protect their cultural heritage and even plan their future. In Dublin, Lichfield and Stirling, local councils have programmed smart apps that use augmented reality as a tourist guide for visitors, and in Zurich, Switzerland, the city has designed wearable smart glasses in front of empty ground to draw a three-dimensional (3D) picture of the buildings on which it might be based in the future.

If reality is the state of things as they exist and as humans actually see them, and virtual reality is a space where imagined objects are translated through programmed aids to appear visually, what would it be like if technology combined both? Hence, the idea of augmented reality was born, to be an improved interactive version of the real world, to which digital visual elements, sounds and other sensory stimuli are added.

The idea of introducing augmented reality to services emerged at a time when the world's governments are facing increasing pressure to provide more services with fewer resources, and calls for a greater role in the decision-making process and higher government transparency are also being heard.

All systems that shape contemporary life are getting smarter every day, from roads, energy networks, water and sanitation systems, through buildings, utilities and telecommunications networks, and not ending with cars and the homes in which we live, causing a dramatic increase in the number of technology users. Also, after the COVID-19 pandemic has changed so much, it can be said that many people have established a self-contained life online.

Thus, countries have turned to the revolutionary augmented reality technology and adopted it as part of the solution, especially with the spread of smart infrastructures, the Internet of Things, broadband networks and the huge amount of direct geographical data.

To further illustrate this, augmented reality is characterised by 3 main elements, the first of which is the combination of digital and physical worlds, then live and direct interactions, and the last of which is the 3D accurate identification of objects and assets, whether virtual or real. Four cities famous for their historical weight have decided to take advantage of these features.

Stirling in Scotland has outlined its ambition to be “the world’s first fully augmented reality city”. Via a phone app, Stirling’s historic city centre and attractions are overlaid with interactive information, graphics and 3D models to create a fully immersive and dynamic experience that no other city currently offers. Stirling Council has invested US$240,000 in the project via funding from the Scottish Government’s Place Based Investment Programme.

The tool’s unique selling point is that it is city-wide and brings together augmented and mixed reality, wayfinding and gamification. Virtual signs respond to users’ needs and interactive games unlock rewards and incentives. Accessibility is another key area. The AR app allows more disabled residents to have tourism experiences virtually – such as the view over Stirling Castle from the Wallace Monument. This hasn’t been possible for some people before due to a spiral staircase which is not accessible for everyone.

The app has also garnered attention across the council, with colleagues intrigued about potential beyond tourism. Planning teams could use the technology to showcase what proposed buildings or other developments would look like and others have spotted educational opportunities.

This is similar to what the City of Zurich does, where Urban Development Zurich (STEZ) has developed an innovative visualisation tool that uses augmented reality, to draw 3D semi-transparent images of future buildings, facilities and infrastructure above and below ground. This tool has turned into part of planning studies, architectural competitions, civil engineering projects, construction and maintenance operations, and even archaeology.

Also, in the city of Lichfield, Lichfield District Council launched the Lichfield Time Travellers App, which offers visitors historical narratives based on augmented reality. The app features a map of the city centre to navigate to the 12 Time Portal locations and there is a variety of artefacts to collect. At each of the dozen locations, Time Portals can be opened by scanning the area and a figure from Lichfield’s past is pulled through to tell their story. It is an amazing opportunity to push the limits of what these new 3D, interactive and location-based technologies can do to bring stories and history to life across a dynamic heritage environment.

Dublin City Council (DCC) launched Dublin Discovery Trails – ‘Doors into Docklands’, the first in a series of mobile application based immersive discovery trails with innovative augmented reality. The App, which has been co funded by Dublin City Council and Fáilte Ireland through its Destination Town Investment Scheme, will help to further unlock the tourism potential of the Docklands by bringing the area and its story to life for visitors in a new and immersive way.

This app is an innovative way to see the history of the Docklands come to life through augmented reality which combines the real-world history with smart technology.

Doors into Docklands is aimed at locals and visitors to the City who want to know more about and experience the history of the Docklands from a new and unique perspective. It uses a Wi-Fi or data connection to download the initial content including the geo-enabled landmarks and map. These landmarks will be a prompt for visitors to point their phones where the images and videos will then appear. There is no need for a live data connection while using the app, as everything is stored on the phone after the initial content download.

The Dublin authorities aspire to attract visitors to Dublin’s historical areas in different ways, to strengthen its position as a global tourist destination and to lay the cornerstone of the country's strategy towards smart tourism. The technologies used in augmented reality are widespread, increasing opportunities for interaction and providing new insights into the physical environment, diverse tourist sites, transportation networks and more. What this reality simply does is that it transforms complex urban spaces into an easy-to-handle experience for citizens and visitors.

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How data dashboards are adding accountability to public safety

To establish transparency and accountability, American cities have begun launching electronic data dashboards that collect all information about crimes, the performance of law enforcement agencies, and make facts available to their citizens to keep them informed of the work progress and make them part of the decision-making process.

Data science combines different disciplines such as engineering, research, statistics, mathematics and programming, to generate a science that transforms the abstract into knowledge upon which contemporary governments base their decisions.

But in many cases people should be part of the decision-making process, especially when it comes to their security and safety. An equation understood by the US government, as it has suffered and continues to suffer from high crime rates that in some of its cities, including Baltimore, may reach public unrest, such as the one that the city witnessed as a result of accusing the police of racism. A charge indicted by the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice and issued a report accusing the city's police department of racial discrimination and excessive use of force.

Due to that, the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE) cooperated with Baltimore's Chief Data Officer and the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council to release Baltimore's Comprehensive Violence Prevention Plan, which included the first-ever Public Safety Accountability Dashboard (PSAD) designed to provide greater levels of transparency into a single portal.

The dashboard is an electronic platform that visualizes all data, after it has been collected by employees through smart devices, or from the private sector and citizens, or from other sources. Governments use data covering various areas from geography to traffic, healthcare, education, social security, energy networks, transportation, communications, and more. Law enforcement agencies in Baltimore have used big data analytics to identify where crime is most likely to occur, and where public safety threats are greatest, to which to divert resources, precautions, and protections.

Evaluation and accountability are central pillars of Baltimore's Comprehensive Violence Prevention Plan. It allows the public to hold agencies accountable for executing agreed upon strategies and identifying best practices for measuring effectiveness of the administration's public safety efforts. Furthermore, to ensure peak accessibility and usability for the public, MONSE hosted virtual focus groups to review and offer feedback on the dashboard before it was made accessible to the public.

The data dashboard provides viewers with accurate, ever-updated information and real numbers of patrols roaming the streets, crimes and their locations, the speed of the security forces' response to them, and arrests. It also shows textual and visual explanations of the neighbourhoods and demographics of the victims of violence, but without addressing personal data.

The Office of Data Analytics and Business Intelligence (DBI), in partnership with the Dallas Police Department (DPD), has developed a new interactive Crime Analytics Dashboard that is a “one-stop shop” for most crime related data. The dashboard will display crime related data and information without compromising victim identity or sensitive data.

While hovering over number cards and graphs, viewers will be able to see year-over-year crime trends for all crime categories. The dashboard will also show metrics like total crimes, violent crime, family violence, hate crime and murder rate. Analytics on the dashboard are organised by areas like council district, zip code and police areas. DBI has published an accompanying story page to the dashboard that provides instructions on navigating the dashboard and using its interactive features.

This dashboard is not the first of its kind in the city, as it has an interactive data dashboard of domestic violence cases to increase public awareness.

It is worth noting that the US federal government had started since 2009 to develop data dashboards to revive the national economy in the wake of the global economic crisis, and was followed by several local governments, which in turn created similar dashboards available to the public. Such step requires vision, will and commitment of law enforcement and IT industry leaders.

There is no single methodology that can be applied in all cases, as the subject is governed by the legal frameworks adopted by each state or city. This is the case in federations, where each legal authority must adapt its project according to its local conditions.

In many cases, the use of these dashboards is difficult, such as when dealing with data that applies to specific contexts where the margin of error becomes large in interpreting and analysing the data.

Today, Baltimore has higher levels of transparency, and Dallas is also building a deeper understanding and analysis of the police force and types of crime.

Certainly, data dashboards are not a panacea for crimes, but they will provide information that enhances the performance of the authorities, as they can help preserve higher values such as security, safety, transparency and accountability, and contribute to bringing the government closer to the public and building their trust by involving them in the decision-making process.

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AI and drone tech help local governments in road maintenance

Because the quality of roads is a major factor in the safety of their users, several countries, such as the United Kingdom and Lithuania, have started using advanced technologies to make road inspections and maintenance easier and more efficient. Drones, artificial intelligence, sensors, and modern high-resolution cameras that can cover hundreds of thousands of kilometres and reach where humans fail are the most prominent of these technologies.

Every day, nearly 4,000 people die in traffic accidents around the world, on roads shared by cars, buses, trucks, bicycles, motorcycles, pedestrians and others.

Many factors cause these accidents, starting with human errors - which are the most common - to weather conditions such as wind, frost or fog. While humans and weather factors are considered relatively out of control, it remains possible to maintain a certain quality of the road network and protect it even from the first two factors, as this vital infrastructure is highly vulnerable to traffic, weather, acts of vandalism, and others.

All this leads to the formation of potholes, cracks, or road erosion that may take some time to appear, and when they do, they cause bigger problems, longer traffic disruption, higher cost of repairs, and a general state of insecurity, not to mention the accumulation of rainwater, as in the case of Australia, which most regional roads were built in the aftermath of World War II, and were followed by heavy traffic conditions and severe weather.

To avoid all these repercussions, early detection of such problems is necessary. And because it is not visible to the naked eye, then it should be discovered by experts, or wait for them to worsen and people complain about them.

Drone-mounted high-resolution cameras, sensors and artificial intelligence (AI) software are part of what the Victorian Government is calling a “regional road maintenance blitz” to renovate its transport network.

The trial of the AI software “EaglEye” is underway in the state’s north east, helping to map and assess the condition of more than 4,000 kilometres of arterial roads and roadside assets. The software has used footage captured by vehicle-mounted cameras to automatically detect, categorise, and assess the condition of hundreds of thousands individual road assets, including signs, line marking, trees, and safety barriers, as well as the road surface itself.

In most places, the state level Department of Transportation oversees the maintenance of major roads. But the maintenance of smaller roads, like town roads or roads that go through neighbourhoods, is usually left to local municipalities. To do so, employees temporarily have to shut down a section of the road and photograph it while walking along on foot, during which they take pictures for experts to review, as part of a slow, expensive, arduous and inaccurate process that is not sufficient to collect the necessary data and is only conducted once a year, as no city can afford to close its roads any longer.

Today, many governments are unable to provide systematic maintenance of roads by traditional means, and it is natural to turn attention to today's technology solutions. The idea is to exploit drones' ability to reach locations that are difficult for humans to reach, such as under bridges, busy highways and storm barriers, as well as areas hit by storms or fires to gather as much information as possible and assist with planning for clean-up and repair works.

City leaders in Winchester, Virginia, wanted to test whether drones could collect visual data reflecting the pavement conditions. This initiative is part of DroneUp’s Innovative Municipalities Project in Winchester and the goal was to see if a drone could be used to collect all of the visual data the city needed for its pavement inspections. Beyond just taking photos, the DroneUp team wanted to use this data to create detailed 3D models of the street that would show the condition of the pavement.

In Europe, the government of Lithuania is undergoing a similar experiment in cooperation with private sector partners. Lithuania wants to deploy drones equipped with high-definition cameras and multiple sensors to perform the inspections, whether it’s with a monthly, weekly, or even daily frequency. The result is a jointly developed project called GreenBee, whose purpose is to improve the whole process of inspection and reduce the CO2 emissions associated with it.

These technologies save taxpayers money and keep workers safe, and will enable inspection and maintenance teams to map thousands of kilometres accurately and comprehensively within weeks, replacing traditional processes that may take more than 3 years.

These processes will also help officials build a deep understanding of the state of the road network, direct funding and resources according to real needs, and reduce carbon footprint and emissions, which are in the service of the climate change agenda.

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Tax authorities use AI powered tools to assess property

To improve property assessment and control related violations, as well as reduce attempts to evade paying full tax fees, local authorities in various European and American cities and towns have resorted to the use of aerial imagery supported by artificial intelligence and machine learning and other modern technologies to inspect and evaluate properties, and then impose appropriate tax fees on their owners.

How can tax investigators act in a certain county if they looked at Google Earth and found 16,974 swimming pools attached to villas in an area where official records showed just 324 swimming pools? This is not a hypothetical question, but actually happened in Greece, and it is not only a question related to municipal violations, but also and mainly to property taxes.

Historically, taxes have been a major source of income for states and their budgets. It finances its social and service projects, and supports its economic, political and military plans. While almost no one in Europe and America disagrees on the importance of taxes on profits and economic activities, the percentage of these taxes and their categories are always the subject of political and social controversy.

Property is one of the basic taxes that are hard to collect on the one hand, and not up to industry standards on the other hand. It is an annual tax paid by the owner, and its value is usually calculated as a percentage of the estimated property value, whether sold or rented.

Calculating the current property value accurately every year is impossible, as this value does not change only with the market change, and supply and demand levels, but also with changing the specifications of these properties. Properties are assets that undergo continuous modification, and they are subject to inspections to decide on their new estimated value, and the amount of their taxes. COVID-19 pandemic impacted assessors’ ability to perform on-site assessments.

About a decade ago, some authorities used aerial imagery taken by low-altitude planes, drones, and satellites, which helped achieve a higher level of compliance and reduce property tax leakage without dispensing with the role of the assessor and his periodic field visits.

With the spread of violations, and the failure of property owners to obtain permits to build or modify the specifications of their properties, or to make modifications that differ from the permits they obtained, tax agencies in France, Germany and the United States found themselves faced with two options; the first is to expand the team of assessors, which is an expensive option, and does not appeal to taxpayers who do not like frequent visits as it suggests a lack of confidence, and the second option was the use of artificial intelligence in analysing aerial imagery, compared to an image of the same area from earlier to identify land parcels which have changed.

Not only do these technologies map modifications to the inspection teams in towns and counties to plan assessment visits on the ground, but they go much further, communicating with the software used by tax agencies, informing them of these modifications and the list of priority on which tax assessors should focus their attention and take the necessary action.

As of 2020, it was estimated that France had around 3.2 million private swimming pools, but constructions have reportedly surged as more people worked from home during COVID-19 lockdowns, and summer temperatures have soared across Europe. Ownership of private pools has become somewhat contentious in France this year, as the country has suffered from a historic drought that has emptied rivers of water.

Last October, French tax authorities using AI software have found thousands of undeclared private swimming pools, landing the owners with bills totalling about €10m. The system can identify pools on aerial images and cross-checks them with land registry databases. Launched as an experiment a year ago in nine French departments, it has uncovered 20,356 pools. There are plans to expand the use of its AI-pool-spotter to the entirety of metropolitan France (excluding the country’s overseas departments), which could net an additional €40 million in taxes.

Property owners in Germany rarely report the addition or removal of paved areas that affect drainage, hence, the municipal wastewater authority, is forced to collect and record data manually, then validate the information with property owners. On the other hand, the tax assessment process is labour-intensive.

Cologne, Germany, announced the successful delivery of a geospatial artificial intelligence (GeoAI) solution for streamlining city wastewater operations, by using imagery and LiDAR-based data collection and AI-enabled analysis, so the GeoAI solution automatically identifies and classifies property surfaces. It also recognises obstructions such as shadows, vegetation and roof overhangs that could impair evaluation.

Taunton, Massachusetts uses Nearmap to gain access to a 3-inch high-resolution aerial images so they can view and assess properties with ease. The AI-powered object recognition makes it easier to find things like swimming pools and decks, and the time required to check properties for taxable assets has been reduced from several days to a few minutes.

However, despite the significant benefits these initiatives bring to the tax authorities, public opinion about aerial imagery is not favourable. But this is not the only challenge facing these tools. Some early reports pointed to another artistic challenge of decreasing the quality of aerial images themselves, causing an unusually high margin of error in the machine learning program, by 30%, which caused systematic errors in the detection of property additives, such as solar panel installations. Accurate investigations using AI tools require feeding the system with clear visual data. Obtaining such data can be costly at present and economically futile.

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Indonesia makes health data available at one’s fingertips

Following the footsteps of other countries' successful digital experiences, Indonesia is working to create a unified electronic medical record system that includes individual health history, and allows information to be easily shared between health facilities, referenced and updated at any time.

If someone tries to remember how many diseases they've had, how often they've received health care, or visited a hospital or doctor's clinic, they'll likely fail to count them. If they are receiving care and need this information, they may not even be able to decide what to share.

People usually keep hard copies of their X-rays, test results, and previous prescriptions to show to their new doctors, but they often have to re-check or fill out forms because they are lost, and sometimes both options fail, and important medical data is lost.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought this to light as it has with many deep-rooted challenges. While the world was struck by the collapse of health systems in Europe's most advanced countries, their Asian and African counterparts were living in a far harsher landscape.

Indonesia is home to the world's fourth-largest population, making infection and death rates one of the highest ever, with health facilities overcrowded and their medical records, usually kept only in hospitals, inaccessible, except in some cases where the patient is given hard copies. Finding and viewing such documents is a luxury for a doctor trying to save the life of a patient who is unable to breathe.

Therefore, after the pandemic subsided, the Ministry of Health, through the Digital Transformation Office (DTO), initiated the creation of the SATUSEHAT platform to standardise and simplify healthcare service record keeping.

SATUSEHAT was officially launched in 2022, as an integration platform for all health information technology in Indonesia. This platform adopts a model that connects the entire ecosystem of health industry players (government and private hospitals, health centres, laboratories, clinics, and pharmacies) to create one reliable national health data repository.

The process of integrating data into the SATUSEHAT platform will be carried out through several phases. The first phase will encompass patient registration data and diagnoses. The second phase will consist of data on patients’ medical procedures, vital signs and diet.  The third phase will integrate drug data along with the drug dictionary. The fourth phase will integrate laboratory and radiology observation data, and the fifth phase will integrate allergy data and physical condition data.

The database allows uploading files of various types and formats, from written medical reports to laboratory test results as well as multimedia such as radiographs or videos recorded for surgeries. The Ministry of Health plans to integrate SATUSEHAT with Indonesia’s healthcare social security agency. The integration will include a tuberculosis recording system, mortality data, maternal and perinatal data, immunisation data, and a national referral system.

SATUSEHAT will also be integrated with the PeduliLindungi application, a Covid-19 app that is already familiar to Indonesians and has been accessed by more than 60 million users.

The National Registry adopts a software model, which is a cloud computing one where an external service provider provides tools and software to users over the Internet.

To date, 77% of Indonesian health facilities have joined the platform, and the Ministry of Health has issued a law requiring all health facilities to integrate their electronic systems into SATUSEHAT before the end of 2023 and requiring them to adhere to the standards set by the ministry.

There are some challenges, as many health facilities do not have sufficient infrastructure and digital resources, especially in remote areas. According to a survey, only 16 per cent of hospitals have implemented an electronic medical record system with strong criteria, with 32 per cent possessing sufficient criteria. The majority of hospitals, or 52 per cent, have weak criteria. In a number of facilities, medical workers still record their patient's medical history manually on a computer because there is no internet.

Therefore, the government must provide support, deliver digital services to all parts of the country, prepare qualified staff, and motivate health facility departments to catch up. It is also necessary to approach the challenges of privacy and security and provide assurances to patients that no party will be allowed to access their medical records without their consent, and that these records will be in safe hands and will not be leaked or used to harm them, in addition to guiding them to deal with this new application and overcome software and technical pitfalls.

Several countries are taking this direction, including the United Arab Emirates, which recently began work to launch a national unified medical record platform called "Riayati", which aims to provide advanced health care services to citizens.

A central database means a secure and sustainable source of updatable information, which will provide decision-makers with a solid ground on which to develop health policies.

The central database seeks to create an advanced system for documenting health information and data for each resident and citizen to deliver advanced health care services. It is a sustainable and secure information source and has been created to achieve the safety and quality of health care.

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PeduliLindungi is now Satu Sehat following rebrand, but people say they’re struggling to log in

One-Stop-Shop: Citizens-centred focus to digital government services

Cities around the world are joining the race to digitize public services. A trend, which has recently emerged to enable people to document and conduct major events and transactions in their lives remotely through digital platforms that bring together several government services via a single portal such as in the United States and Singapore.

When it comes to public services, what matters to citizens first is to get the service smoothly and successfully, but details on the government provider and other facts do not concern them, especially since government services are an essential part of every life detail and it will be stressful for whoever wastes their time to understand an entity's way of working.

The challenge is that these entities overlap, and most of the services that people receive are carried out through several bodies and institutions, and go through different administrative, organisational and procedural levels. For example, everyone knows that the reception of a new-born is an event that will be followed by several government procedures such as birth registration, healthcare, maternity leave and others. While these transactions are linked to a pleasant and planned event, they can be stressful, not to mention unfortunate and unplanned events, such as traffic accidents, loss of employment, falling victim to crime or losing a family member, as relatives of the deceased in a country such as the United Kingdom may have to conduct government transactions in 44 institutions.

Complexities may create barriers between citizens and authorities, make governance mechanisms stressful, time-consuming, public and private money draining, and dehumanize government service. A survey targeting North America, Europe and Asia Pacific found that 39% of respondents wished for increased digital interaction with their respective governments, while 53% expressed frustration accessing public services.

To overcome these challenges and complexities, new governance concepts and the collaboration of several entities are needed to plan, finance, implement and provide safe and reliable data-sharing techniques.

In the US state of New York, the government, in cooperation with several agencies, launched the MyCity Portal, after months of collecting approvals from the federal government. For 15 months, work continued to build a new and comprehensive concept of the city's services to better meet the needs of the population.

The portal will be a central data repository for all government agencies, and the first phase will provide child care subsidies, where families who need help paying for child care can apply in one place, with one application. Phase two of the MyCity portal will focus on assisting job seekers and small business owners. The portal will be accessible via smartphones or computers, and will offer a one-stop shop for city services and benefits. It is designed to serve locals and foreigners with an interface available in 10 common languages.

LifeSG is one of the Strategic National Projects under Singapore’s Smart Nation initiatives. Aimed at providing a suite of services to support citizens’ needs at key junctures by integrating and bundling services across government agencies. It was first made available as a mobile application to support families with young children below six years old. Since then, the app has progressively added new features to serve citizens in other aspects of their life journey. These include an Active Ageing module for seniors aged 60 and above, and an Employment Support Guide for job-seekers.

Citizens can explore and easily access more than 70 government services. Information displayed is grouped according to topics of interest, such as family and parenting, work and employment, healthcare, housing and property, and other frequently-used digital services. More services will be added progressively.

A ‘step-by-step’ view of performing ‘tasks’ to help guide users through the process of a government transaction. The Inbox serves as a consolidated touchpoint for users to be notified of announcements, and follow-up on key tasks at certain stages of a transaction. The Appointment feature allows users to get reminders for upcoming appointments or events signed up through LifeSG.

In the United Kingdom, the government has launched a programme called “Tell Us Once”, which is concerned with government transactions that include a death situation, so that any British citizen who is grieving a family member can notify the platform once, so that notifications are automatically sent to the tax authorities, passport office, local governments, insurance companies and all concerned parties.

However, these initiatives face many challenges, such as incompatibility with government entities' objectives and differing data standards adopted in each of them, requiring precise definition of roles and alignment of objectives, as well as the adoption of smooth systems and common data standards. Regulations can also impede data sharing and restrict accountability and governance tools, which requires genuine political will.

Finally, these portals need the trust of citizens who will entrust their critical information among institutions that will share the data, resources and technology. The absence of such trust will pose a major challenge to any endeavour of this kind, and there is no solution except to build awareness among citizens and establish solid protocols on which true partnerships between state institutions are based.

The New York MyCity Portal facilitates residents' access to information and support from various government entities, thus contributing to the reduction of bureaucracy and red tape in government services.

The British “Tell Us Once” and its Singaporean counterpart relieve individuals of the burden of monotonous procedures in the defining happy or sad events in their lives, thus achieving the essence of government service that helps people to live a healthy human life.

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