Human connectedness: the power of smart communities for regional Australia
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by Nikki Stefanoff
The concept of the Smart City (when smart technology is used to improve residents’ quality of life) burst into the world’s consciousness in 2014 when Songdo, South Korea was announced as the world’s first.
Since then, the use of electronics, sensors and data to manage assets, resources and services efficiently has been rolled out in places like London, New York and Shanghai, among others. However, over the last decade, the focus has always been on the benefits smart technology can bring to the ‘city’.
But not everyone is a city dweller.
At the last count, there were 8.5 million people (and growing) living in Australia’s rural communities, small towns and remote properties.
And, as the 2020 pandemic demonstrated by forcing us to work, and socialise, remotely it’s not just city folk who need to stay consistently connected to their communities and beyond.
What even is a smart city?
The prefix ‘smart’ refers to a wide range of technologies installed across an area and operated by various companies for local governments.
The technology can be used for a variety of different services, such as checking for empty car park spaces or letting the council know when public bins need to be emptied.
Shifting smart technology from the cities to the outer suburbs and further afield has been on local councils’ minds since 2016 when, then Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull released a Smart Cities Plan, which included a grants program worth $50 million.
This funding was open, between 2017 to 2020, to Australian council areas both regional and metropolitan.
Since then councils across the country have implemented the technology hoping to improve operations and community safety.
From smart cities to smart communities
Port Macquarie-Hastings in New South Wales, is one council that has brought smart city methodology to the area’s local and regional communities. Along the way changing the terminology used from ‘smart city’ to ‘smart community’.
Not only did this slight shift in language better describe what the council wanted to achieve but it also emphasised how rural and regional councils need to look at things differently from the big cities when designing smart communities.
Yes, technology plays an integral role in a smart community framework but, when designing for regional and rural communities, there needs to be a shift from the technology-first, data-led model of the cities to a more human-centred approach.
This involves consulting and co-designing with residents.
What are smart communities?
In its Smart Community Roadmap, Port Macquarie-Hastings council stated that for them, a smart community had to be more than just somewhere to live and, when planning for a transition to a smart community, locals had to be at the centre of the planning and development.
By co-designing with the Port Macquarie-Hastings community, via online surveys and interactive workshops, the council and residents mapped their own pathway to more digital equity between regional and urban Australia.
In the three years since publishing their roadmap, the Port Macquarie-Hastings council has:
- introduced free public Wi-Fi
- upgraded 5,000 streetlights by installing smart sensors and controls to be more energy-efficient
- opened a business and co-working hub
- launched smart library initiatives including 3D printers and Virtual Reality experiences for the general public to access.
The benefits of smart communities
When smart technology is used effectively the benefits to a community can touch everything from dealing with waste and traffic management to how accessible, liveable and safe it is for all residents.
Demonstrating, through innovation, that a regional area is just as liveable, connected and easy to work from as a city has the potential to not only drive the community’s economy but also bring more employment and social opportunities to the area.
The positive impact that smart technology can have on the country’s natural environment is already being seen in several regional projects.
A project, partly funded by the Cairns Regional Council, is aiming to reduce urban impact on the Great Barrier Reef.
Through sensors in waterways, water usage data is being tracked in an area of Port Macquarie-Hastings prone to drought.
And Queensland’s Fraser Coast Council has, alongside University of the Sunshine Coast, used digital technology to create an app advising on how to approach a trip to the island with environmental and cultural respect.
The importance of funding for smart communities
With so many benefits it’s hard to understand why smart community projects aren’t being rolled out country-wide. The answer is that there’s a lack of specific funding programs at both the state and federal levels.
Without federal support, smart community projects have to rely on local government for funding and there’s just not enough money to go around.
When there’s no support for regional and rural communities there ends up being limited access to innovative technology and expertise.
Then the geographical isolation starts to pose seemingly insurmountable challenges — particularly when it comes to climate-related disasters, which tend to affect rural communities.
There’s an argument to be had for the government to invest in smart communities now so they are prepared for what might happen in the future.
It would surely be financially beneficial to invest early rather than finding millions of dollars to support communities after a climate-related catastrophe.
In an article published by the Australian Smart Communities Association, George Payne, a smart communities consultant, stated that governments should direct public investment into local smart infrastructure much like they did with the road, rail and sewage networks of the Industrial Revolution.
‘Local governments must continue lobbying the state and federal governments to play a stronger role in planning and funding the deployment of smart tech across Australia,’ Payne said.
‘On the other hand, the Australian Government needs to commit to bringing local government to the policymaking table.
‘Cities and regions are nearly always excluded from policymaking discussions in this space, which invariably contributes to the poor adoption of smart concepts in Australian communities.’
Payne’s observation is right. Co-designing with representatives from local government areas (LGA) in the room gives plenty of opportunity for the real experts to give their opinions and talk about their experience.
When there is a strong collaboration between LGA, state and federal governments communities, smart or otherwise, are always more likely to succeed.
