Snow White said, “Remember, you’re the one who can fill the world with sunshine.” Smart city planning allows us to fill the world with a new, innovative sunshine. Which is why, for these three reasons, we should promote smart city planning in Topeka, Kansas, and the rest of the country. 

First and foremost, smart city planning will drastically improve infrastructure and technology. Forward-thinking communities are focused on integrating the IoT into their smart city programs by creating a holistic strategy that includes linking these new systems to improve city operations and drive economic development. But the implementation of smart projects creates a need for specific methodologies to assess community readiness, create alignment around a community Vision and develop an actionable, prioritized plan. Strategic smart city planning will help us all identify resources that can be leveraged and repurposed, identify key gaps and needs, and prioritize the opportunities to develop our community’s infrastructure and technology. Smart city planning is exactly what our community needs. 

Furthermore, there are many benefits to Smart City Planning. It enables us for effective decision making based on data, and to become more decisive and understanding about the true issues in our communities. For example, improved urban transportation creates more safe public transport and less congestion, optimization of time in hospital and public service lines enables us to react quickly to emergencies. Implementation of new businesses and opportunities spurs economic development and inspires communities to get involved. Essentially, this bill is incredibly fruitful, and will allow us to reach our full potential. 

Finally, smart cities are also key to lower our carbon footprint. With the rise of greenhouse gasses, smart cities are fighting back to reduce negative effects on the environment. Energy efficient buildings, air quality sensors, and renewable sources are providing cities with new tools to shrink their ecological impact. The sensors can help lay a foundation for reducing air pollution in even the most populated cities, something that is sure to save lives since medical problems related to pollution claim millions of lives per year. This shift in our response to our carbon footprint will incentivize other countries to do the same, ultimately avoiding an existential threat such as climate change. Which, if anything, solves climate change. 

When we take our cities for granted, we fail to see what we can truly do, which is filling the world with a new kind of sunshine. The kind of sunshine some of us could only dream of a few years ago. We must take advantage of our abilities, our knowledge, and our technology, and put them to use.