Connected Environments are a core deliverable of Smart Cities and Smart Districts looking to take their first steps towards future-proofing their urban landscape. Smart #kiosks, #signage and #wayfinding should be top of the list. Why?

Community and Commercial Benefit

Smart District and Smart City initiatives that benefit the community deliver a clear return on investment. The citizens gain a direct benefit in the form of easier, safer navigation of the city or district. Additionally, the added flow and time savings to pedestrian traffic inevitably results in more time for those consumers. More time to shop, be entertained and enjoy the city. The city becomes more comfortable and consumers spend more time in the city. They explore. They plan trips through the city, safely knowing how to complete their frictionless journey with a minimum of fuss.

Community Support for Smart Cities Initiatives

Secondly, customer-facing smart technologies introduce the benefits of Smart City initiatives to consumers early. It helps win confidence for those initiatives going forward. The combination of visibility and ROI makes Smart Navigation a must for cities, districts and communities looking to progress with technology as the backbone of future city development. 

ROI

Finally, smart navigation has the ability to tie into other forms of revenue. Often cities utilize digital navigation touchpoints to promote city events. The network can connect pedestrians with particular promotions available through public services such as transport or even run some third-party advertising.

Creating a network of digital signage, visitor kiosks and a city mobile-based application is a smart cities initiative that benefits all stakeholders and pays for itself. As a lead-in to other smart city projects, it helps pave the way for cities to chase their goals on energy conservation, pollution, traffic and safety. 

For an analysis on some immediately-available strategies for smart cities, we suggest this article found on the IoT For All website.