James Brainhard, Mayor of City of Carmel, Indiana, US, says the only way to transform a city into a smart city is to make it a place for everyone to prosper in a clean and green environment.
Speaking on a the sidelines of an event on Smart Cities & Sustainability, hosted by Foundation for Futuristic Cities, he said that good schools, a clean and safe environment and space for people to walk to work, all make for a smart city.
Admitting that it is challenging to build such an environment, he said large Indian cities “need to take up one neighbourhood at a time and work on developing it into a smart place.”
It took him nearly two decades to build Carmel with an investment of over $700 million through public-private participation model.
Karuna Gopal, President of Foundation for Futuristic Cities, said these are lessons for India to learn as it takes up smart city projects.