Although the smart communities movement is in its very early days — my view, not shared by some of the pundits out there — there have already been several Australian expeditions to high-profile ‘smart cites’ like Amsterdam and Barcelona.
Australia, however, is geographically located in Asia-Pacific, which has seen the fastest sustainable economic growth over the last two decades; and is increasingly the birthplace of some world-leading innovations (think AliPay; the digital enablement of HeMa supermarket; Huawei’s 5G).
So: why are there so few linkups between Australian and Asian cities? Is it because there is no thought-leadership in these cities? Or no thought-leadership in Australia? Or because Australia is, still, overly Caucasian in its thinking?
Are there two ships passing in the night: an Aussie ship, which is good at using other folks’ inventions; and an Asian (or Chinese) ship, good at creating inventions?
Do both sides just throw their hands up because of language/cultural differences?
It’s like a missing piece in an otherwise smart jigsaw. Quite remarkable, really.
There have, to be sure, been exchanges of ideas with Singapore and with Hong Kong. That’s business as usual though, between three ex-British colonies, two of which are cities as well as states. So whatever steps they take to move forward at a national level these also are ‘city’ initiatives.
In China the burgeoning and very active smart city movement is overshadowed by, and could effectively become a subset of, the Belt-&-Road initiative. It would be unfair to say no attention has been paid by Australia to China — although it is surprising how few Aussie innovations see the light of day in the Peoples’ Republic.
In South Korea there are a number of initiatives being driven by the chaebol, such as Samsung or LG. There are small-scale developments in Thailand and Malaysia, which I hope to describe these in future articles. However, one notable place ‘missing in action’ is Taiwan. After all, it is the place of production for huge numbers of the components essential to innovation.
How come none of Kaohsiung, Taichung, Tainan or Taoyuan appear in smart communities articles? Why the deathly silence from Taipei/New Taipei?
One answer: “No financial support from central government”. But this is a poor excuse. Other places, such as Barcelona, Bristol and Adelaide, have kick-started their smartness with revenue-generating or cost-saving projects such as LED lighting or smart bins.
Such projects lead the way by enabling the council to better serve its community, and by making financial sense at the same time.Conclusions: there is not enough idea exchanges between Australian and Asia cities. Both parties are losing out on opportunities and advancement. And, someone who should be a leading light in this movement is currently missing in action.
