The new ISO standarts hope to guide governors and private initiatives to promote smarter urban solutions
Together with a team of experts, Bright Cities is supporting the Portuguese version of the Smart Cities Standard, the ISO 37122 (2019). It is being developed by the Commission for Special Studies on Sustainable Cities and Communities (ABNT / EEC-268), a study group responsible for developing Brazilian technical standards for sustainable, resilient and smart cities. Created by the Brazilian Association of Technical Standards (ABNT), the initiative also has the contribution of institutions such as the Housing Union (Secovi-SP), the Ministry of Regional Development (MDR), the Council of Architecture and Urbanism (CAU) and the Polytechnic School of University of Sao Paulo (Poli USP).
The initiative, created by request of CBCS – Brazilian Council for Sustainable Construction with the Polytechnic School of USP, aims to create parameters to define what a smart city is, allowing any municipality – regardless of size or budget- to adopt them. The standards are aligned with the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which encompasses a range of humanitarian issues that should guide the formulation of international and public policies until 2030. They are also based on international standards already established by the Technical Committee TC 268 of ISO (International Organization for Standardization), that brings together associations from 162 countries.
As explained by CBCS, the Commission’s work is to translate those standarts as well as to adapt it to the Brazilian reality, inserting the country in the most relevant global discussions. The group has developed 8 standards for sustainable cities and communities, as well as 14 standards for smart communities’ infrastructures. Among the main ones are:
ISO 37120:2018, “Sustainable cities and communities — Indicators for city services and quality of life”, which proposes guidelines and guides for implementing smart systems. To buy it, click here.
ISO 37122:2019, “Smart City Indicators”, under the guidance of Bright Cities, which defines and establishes methodologies for a set of smart city indicators, measuring technology performance. It will be a parameter for the certifiable standard ISO 37101: 2017 – “Management system for sustainable development”, which will be issued only to municipalities that meet ISO sustainability requirements. On June 6th, CEE-268 decided to adopt ISO 37122 (2019) as the base text number 268:011 so that the standard can be applied in Brazil. Its original name is “Sustainable cities and communities – Indicators for Smart Cities”. To buy it, click here.
ISO 37101: 2016, “Management system for sustainable development” : establishes requirements for a management system for sustainable development in communities, including cities, using a holistic approach, with a view to ensuring consistency with the sustainable development policy of communities. To buy it, click here.
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As important as defining a standard is obtaining the city’s data for each indicator. That is why Bright Cities platform incorporates all standards related to Smart Cities, collecting data and its respective indicators to evaluate its performance. Do you want to know how your city is performing under the 37120 and 37122 standards? Contact us.
Our platform collectcs, analyzes and compares 160 international indicators in ten urban areas, creating a complete diagnosis of the city. Having identified the problems and points for improvement, we then create a personalized roadmap, where we indicate smart solutions and good urban practices registered in our database – it is today the largest in the world in the subject, with more than 1,000 registered initiatives.
The Smart Cities standards used by our platform are based on a series of indicators in more than ten urban areas, such as the examples listed below. Result of a global consensus, these indicators are standardized and comparable to cities around the world, allowing a consistent data analysis. Examples include:
- Use of low pollutant vehicles;
- Percentage of workers in technology and communication sectors;
- Education and research, number of computers in public schools;
- Percentage of recovered plastic waste;
- Proportion of population living in low and medium density regions.
Bright Cities platform consolidates all this information in ten areas of analysis and makes the data available in a joint and comparative interface.
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Although not mandatory, those standards will become important guidelines for future public policies and private initiatives. In addition to providing valuable information to demystify the concept of smart cities in the country, they also encourage the adoption of innovative technologies, capable of improving both the efficiency of public management and the life quality of Brazilian cities.
Want to know more about Standarts for Cities? Visit the content we created about the importance of these documents. Want to know how your city can become smarter? Visit Bright Cities platform. Upgrade your city!
