This time a report from Napoli; an amazing city more authentic Italian than the ‘real’ holidays cities in Italy. It has a very long history it started as a Greek city (Neapolis) around 600BC. During the Middle Ages it was – after Paris – the 2nd largest city in Europe. As of the whole of Southern Italy, it has had a rough time over the last 500 years with lots of foreign occupations and exploitation.It remained one of the poorest cities in Western Europe until well into the 20th century. Modernisation only started to take hold in a substantial way after WWII.
It was the authenticity of Naples that caused us to fall in love with this rough pearl.
Apart from the fact that some 3 million people live around the Vesuvius – an active volcano – the city does face some very serious infrastructure problems. Like so many other cities they are looking at technologies to see if these can assist in addressing those problems in a better way.
Naples City Council approved a resolution in 2014 to establish a Smart City Association Napoli (ANSC). The ANSC has unlimited duration and is a not-for-profit organisation.
Some of the projects undertaken by the ANSC:
- Computer labs at three pre-schools using 31 computers – the aim of this project is to test educational programs for children aged between three and six years of age. The 31 donated computers are part of a project to recover, and make operable again, computers that are destined for disposal.
- Ro points – the installation of service infrastructure in parking areas for electric cars and vans.
- Tourism – the identification and classification of tourism and cultural destinations in Naples in order to plan and better manage transport within the city.
- Cycle stations – a network of points, eg near subways, where users can pick up or return a bike. The stations will offer free Wi-Fi and other services.
- Aqua system project – this project monitors the networks of water resources in the city, including management of water supply systems, urban drainage, energy efficiency and the setting up pilot projects.
- Napoli Cloud City – this project involves the construction of a free public Wi-Fi network for all citizens in Naples.
The Naples City Council has also approved the Action Plan for Sustainable Energy, a document promoted by the European Commission, which should lead to a 25% decrease in emissions of CO2, compared to 2005, by the end of 2020.
If any western city is in need of smart city solutions it is Naples and the hope is that the political will is there to serious address the many issues the city is facing and that it will be able to effectively and efficiently execute on them; without wasting large amounts of money in the entrenched corruption systems that still exist here.
Chiao from Napoli.
Paul Budde