A smart city uses connected technology and data to improve how a city operates and serves people, from traffic and transit to utilities, public safety and parking.
Parking is one of the most practical smart city applications because it produces large volumes of useful data: occupancy, payments, durations and enforcement. Used well, that data helps drivers find spaces, helps cities set prices and allocate the curb, and reduces traffic from drivers circling for parking.
Parking in smart city programs
- Guidance. Real-time availability on signs and apps. See parking guidance system.
- Curb management. Digital curb inventories and pricing for loading, rideshare and parking. See curb management.
- Payment and enforcement. Mobile payment, license plate recognition and data-driven enforcement.
- Pricing. Demand-based rates informed by occupancy data. See dynamic pricing.
What to watch
- Interoperability and open data standards, so systems do not lock the city into one vendor.
- Privacy and retention rules for plate and payment data.
The Parkonomics view
Smart city programs succeed when they change a decision: a price, a curb assignment, a route. Sensors that feed dashboards nobody acts on are not smart; they are expensive.
Related terms: Smart Parking Solutions, Smart Parking Guidance Systems, Curb Management, Geofencing, Dynamic Pricing