COVID-19: How can a smart city respond?

At time of writing, the COVID-19 strain of the Coronavirus has caused a lockdown in the vast majority of the 11 ASToN cities, with schools, places of worship and of work closed, public gatherings forbidden, and public funding and services redirected to an urgent Coronavirus response.

Whilst the immediate effects on the ASToN network are becoming clear, how quickly cities will be able to stabilise then recover from longer term social and economic impacts are yet to be understood. Smart cities are able to respond to the needs of their citizens, and the virus is the single biggest threat to citizens for the coming months.

Across the world, smart cities have been trying to understand how best to prepare, adapt and respond to the threats of the virus, and ASToN cities are no exception. Cities are looking at how to share best practices, including on topics such as two way communication with citizens, distance learning, responsive governance, resilience, data-driven decision making, cleanliness and security.

Over time, we will consider the COVID-19 impacts on cities through the lens of citizens’ immediate needs and cities’ response to those needs, their ability to stabilise, and then how they might recover.