28.01.13
£24m Future Cities Demonstrator goes to Glasgow
Glasgow has won £24m funding to host the Technology Strategy Board’s Future Cities Demonstrator. The city will now show how providing new integrated services can improve the local economy and increase citizens’ quality of life.
The demonstrator will allow UK businesses to test new solutions across health, transport, energy and public safety. A range of systems will be developed to help tackle fuel poverty and improve low life expectancy.
30 cities applied for the funding and developed schemes to improve their performance, including London, Bristol and Peterborough. Glasgow will particularly look at how to improve the council’s service provision on crime prevention, reducing anti-social behaviour and boosting travel infrastructure.
A series of projects will address transport and mobility, promoting healthy living, advanced street lighting and better energy efficiency in public buildings. A city dashboard and management system will be created to help integrate the different sectors.
Minister for universities and science David Willetts said: “With more people than ever before living in our cities, they need to be able to provide people with a better quality of life and a thriving economy. This £24m investment will make Glasgow a city of tomorrow, demonstrating how cities can work more efficiently with a reduced environmental impact.
“We are in a global race and Glasgow can keep the UK at the forefront of innovative technology ideas. From transport systems to energy use and health, this demonstrator will play a key part in the government’s industrial strategy and give real insight into how our cities can be shaped in the future.”
Cllr Gordon Matheson, leader of Glasgow City Council, said: “This is a huge boost to Glasgow’s ambitions to build a better future for our city and its people. This investment and the work we will be doing will put us at the forefront of innovative and smart cities not just in the UK but in Europe and beyond.
“Glasgow is a city which is constantly evolving and regenerating and we are always looking to the future. Winning this money will put us years ahead of other UK cities in terms of integrating our technological systems to make them work for and talk to each other.
“This will help us to create a more efficient and a more sustainable city which can adapt and move ahead of the technology of the day and make it work for everyone who lives or works in Glasgow.”
Iain Gray, chief executive of the Technology Strategy Board, commented: “The global market for innovative approaches to delivering efficient, attractive and resilient cities is growing, and UK companies – supported by our world-class academic and research base – are well-positioned to exploit it. This large-scale demonstrator will show just what can be achieved by innovative use of today’s technology, and will help UK companies develop solutions and technologies for the future, for the benefit of the UK economy.”
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Image c. John Lindie under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic licence