Readers may know I was fortunate recently to attend the World Smart Cities Congress, an amazing gathering of over 25,000 people from 850 cities from 180 countries across the world. A consistent theme in so many of the presentations and innovations from across the world was the importance of bold, ambitious and visionary leadership.
The bold, ambitious and visionary cities are embracing population growth and the ‘Smart Cities’ are those working to create environments for all people to have their best experience whilst living together. Smart Cities are deeply human centric and utilise creative and innovating design thinking to develop, adapt and utilise the power of people and technology.
What does this mean for a prosperous, sustainable and inclusive Ballarat? With visionary thought leadership, combined with a strategic approach to our planning, we can leverage the great qualities of the region and attract further investment in our economy and community.
The City of Sunderland in the north east of England is a relevant case study of a Smart City going through a major transformation. Despite its population being a little larger than Ballarat (approx. 180,000), we can draw many similarities and some inspiration from how Sunderland are going about planning for their future.
Following the closure of its coal mining and ship building industries, the region stood stagnant for many years. Visionary leadership led by its local government and fully supported by its community, Sunderland has redefined its future as a City for the 21st century, “leaving no one and nowhere behind”.
With a relatively small investment to redevelop the derelict riverside brewery site into 5,500 sqm of contemporary high-end office space, a project called the Beam, opened the door on a significant urban renewal project: Riverside Sunderland . The project incorporating 32 hectares of inner-city land, includes diverse housing, entertainment, healthcare, open space and parklands, integrated transport and innovative new industries: In total, 2 billion pounds of private investment has gone into the development of the precinct, with more to come.
Underpinning the city’s transformation is a digital strategy that will see Sunderland be the UK’s first fully integrated 5G city. Digital integration is key to all areas of social and economic development, including technology assisted health care and aged care, a new state of art eye hospital as Britain’s centre for excellence in Ophthalmology, a major film production studio and Europe’s E-Sports Competition and Performance Centre.
The city invested 3.5 million pounds in its digital strategy which has now resulted in private investment of 62 million pounds, again – with more to come!
The story of Sunderland’s transformation from a city in decline to a Smart City of the future lies in its leadership, vision and ambition. Such qualities do not start with government funding, they start with people.
Committee for Ballarat and its members can help shape our future as a Smart City. Collectively we inspire thought leadership and advocate for business investment and the investment in our social infrastructure and people. Such investment will ensure our city and region is prosperous, well connected, well serviced, liveable, sustainable, fun, and a great place to be.
Cities of all sizes around the world are aspiring for the same. Those that succeed will be the ones who are bold and ambitious, with visionary leaders across the entire community.