TECHNOLOGY
Building a smart city – from the ground up
Ten years on from the Canterbury earthquakes, Christchurch is forging a new cityscape as a smart city of opportunity.
In Christchurch, we are exploring new technology and approaches to help make our city a smarter, safer place in which to live, work and play. By using sensors and smart technologies we can now access real-time data on all sorts of things that allow us to better understand how our city is functioning. That understanding supports our planning and decision-making. It helps us to identify and create business opportunities and cement Christchurch’s place as a sustainable 21st century city. In recent years, we have worked collaboratively with several private and public sector entities to champion technological advances that make our city safer and more connected. We have developed a Christchurch-specific web app, SmartView, which is becoming an essential digital destination for city residents and visitors alike. The app provides access to a range of real-time information about the city – from where to find local mountain bike tracks and check that they are open, to the number of spaces available in car park buildings or the nearest bus stop and the time of the next arrival. Users can also check air quality, how best to get places, get weather updates or find out what is happening in the city or discover street art, among the many options.
50
|
The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand
Michael Healy, Programme Manager, Smart Christchurch
In-built disaster response and resilience Smart Christchurch’s earthquake response network, EQRNet, is centre stage in the fields of disaster response and emergency management, making the city a better, safer and more resilient place. The dense network of seismic sensors spaced across Christchurch measures earthquake intensity and delivers immediate information on the likely building and infrastructure response. Smart Christchurch has installed the urban network of seismic sensors to boost the city’s earthquake resilience, with 150 sensors at critical infrastructure points across the city. Developed in partnership with Canterbury Seismic Instruments, EQRNet instantly compares localised shaking to every building’s design and the New Zealand Building Code limits. The network then provides information to building and infrastructure managers, emergency teams and the public, enabling a rapid response to an earthquake. EQRNet gives first responders the real-time, relevant information they need to prioritise their actions and keep people safe. It also provides valuable data on ground movement to engineers, research organisations and authorities to help understand and enhance the resilience of buildings and infrastructure.
