Afshin: Urban Technology Must Move from Infrastructure to Improving Quality of Life

The vice president for science said the measure of technology's success in cities is not the number of systems and equipment, but its impact on citizens' well-being, health, justice, and quality of life.

According to Mehr reporter, Hossein Afshin explained the difference between traditional, digital, smart, knowledge and cognitive cities on Thursday morning in the training workshop on the transformation of urban concepts and the path towards knowledge-based cities, which was held in the presence of the mayors of the cities of Isfahan province. He stated: The goal of urban transformation is not simply to change the name of cities or add technology to existing structures, but a path must be created to improve the city's capabilities and the impact of knowledge and innovation on people's lives.

He stated that having advanced infrastructure, digital services, and artificial intelligence tools alone is not the measure of a city's progress, adding: An advanced city is a city that can learn from its data and experiences, predict developments, and make more effective decisions based on more accurate knowledge.

Digitizing inefficient processes does not make the city smart

The President's vice president for science, technology and knowledge-based economy, criticizing the approaches that equate digitization with smartness, clarified: In a digital city, services and information are transferred to digital platforms, but in a smart city, governance processes and mechanisms are also reviewed and optimized.

Afshin continued: If complicated and inefficient administrative processes are transferred to electronic systems without modification, only the form of service delivery will change and the citizen will still face the same obstacles as before. In such a situation, the number of online services may increase, but the main problem of the people will not be solved.

Emphasizing that the smartness of the city cannot be measured only by the number of sensors, systems or service applications, he said: the main criterion is how technology has affected the performance of the city and the lives of citizens. If the use of technology does not lead to the improvement of services, reduction of problems and ease of people's lives, it cannot be considered as a sign of the realization of smartness.

A smart city must decide before a crisis occurs

The president's vice president for science, technology and knowledge-based economy, pointing to the difference between reactive management and predictive management in cities, stated: In the traditional model, usually after a problem occurs, action is taken to solve it; But by analyzing data and identifying patterns, the smart city can prepare for managing problems before they occur.

Afshin considered traffic, rainfall, snow, and urban accidents among the areas in which it is possible to use predictive approaches and added: In intelligent traffic management, data related to traffic flow should be used to predict congestion and better traffic management; Not that the city management will act only after the formation of the traffic node.

Emphasizing the necessity of simultaneously paying attention to urban sustainability, he noted: Intelligence alone does not guarantee progress. A city may have advanced technologies, but it faces serious problems in areas such as environment, health, resilience, justice in access to services and quality of life.

According to him, the city of the future should provide equal access to facilities, maintain health and safety, and provide people's participation in urban processes while promoting resource efficiency and preparedness for crises.

A knowledge-based city is not defined by the number of companies and universities

Referring to the necessity of reviewing the country's innovation ecosystem development model, Afshin said: The development of knowledge-based companies, innovation centers, accelerators and technology parks has created valuable capacities in the past years, but the existence of a set of independent capabilities does not necessarily lead to the formation of a coherent economic and technological power.

He added: Universities, specialized human resources, knowledge-based companies and industry can be more effective when the relationship between them is strengthened and a continuous chain is formed from idea formation to product production, economic value creation and social and cultural impact.

The president's vice president for science, technology and knowledge-based economy, emphasizing that knowledge and innovation must become sustainable capabilities, stated: "producing an innovative product alone is not enough; The manufacturing complex must be able to repeat its ability, develop new products and continuously upgrade its capacities.

He also considered the role of urban management in the formation and strengthening of the ecosystem of innovation as important and said: Municipalities should not be limited to the establishment of universities and knowledge-based companies within the city limits, but should have plans to strengthen the connection of these complexes with the urban environment, develop innovation infrastructures and provide the basis for the effective presence of knowledge in people's daily lives.

Referring to the importance of the formation of innovation areas in the heart of cities, Afshin added: innovation can become a part of the culture and daily experience of citizens when it goes beyond limited and specialized environments and flows in social interactions, economic activities and public spaces of the city.

influencing people's lives; The criterion for the realization of a knowledge city

Stating that a knowledge city cannot be defined solely based on the number of universities, knowledge-based companies or specialized human resources, he clarified: knowledge becomes an advantage of a city when it can create economic value, bring social and cultural effects, and be visible in the lives of citizens.

The President's vice president for science, technology and knowledge-based economy added: One of the most important factors for the permanence and effectiveness of elites is the feeling of usefulness and seeing the results of their activities. Therefore, cities should provide an environment where the capacity of universities, innovative companies, and specialist forces can emerge and have a real impact.

Afshin also emphasized that the path of urban transformation is not necessarily linear and cities may experience a combination of digital, smart, knowledge and cognitive city characteristics according to their capacities and conditions. Therefore, the main goal should be to know the current situation, measure the capabilities and design a suitable path to improve the performance of the city.

Referring to the role of international evaluation frameworks and indicators in measuring the performance of cities, he stated: The evaluation of cities should include various dimensions, including the quality of urban services, experience and satisfaction of citizens, sustainability, resilience, data-driven governance, justice in access to facilities and inclusive growth opportunities.

In summing up his discussions, Afshin emphasized: Technology becomes a tool of urban progress when it goes beyond the level of infrastructure and system, helps to improve processes and improve decision-making, and the result can be measured in welfare, health, security, equal opportunities and quality of life of citizens.