If you look at civilizations through history, one factor that has had a paramount impact on the evolution of cities is technology. We have all been enthralled with remains of cities and the learnings that are true to this day. With the advancement of technology, the next era of urban innovation will be based in the digital realm. Emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cloud computing, and IoT will change the way we all look at cities in the future. In the paradigm shift of improving the quality of life, Real Estate has a key role to play in Smart City development.

We have all heard of Smart Cities and the definition varies from broad descriptions such as the Smart City Councils - a city that has digital technology embedded across all city functions - to more data-driven explanations such as IBMs – ‘a city that makes optimal use of all the interconnected information available today to better under-stand and control its operations, and optimize the use of limited resources'. In future, Smart City technologies are likely to expand in scope and revolutionize areas such as healthcare, education and policing, while also supporting the growth and development of engaged residents capable of understanding and utilising digital solutions and services (‘Smart Citizens').

Now, What do Smart Cities mean for Real Estate? The integration of Smart Buildings with various components like energy, technology, and others will bring multitude of benefits for the real estate industry, while redefining several long-standing trends and fundamentals.

What are the expected outcomes?
Data-Driven Real Estate Development: The increased availability of data will enable

stakeholders to better un-der stand a property or site, its surroundings and residents. This can be used to guide site selection, planning process and building design. Examples include an investor using foot traffic data generated by embedded sensors to inform its selection of sites to construct new retail premises, or a tenant doing the same to lease a property. However, given privacy concerns, this could be challenging unless such data is provided by the Government as an open source. Smart Buildings' Competitive Advantage: Smart buildings, which use automated processes to control a variety of operations such as tracking and managing energy, environment, security, and other key features are expected to see stronger demand in the coming years. Most landlord respondents (84 percent) to CBRE Research's recent technology survey believe that the technological innovation will drive stronger demand for smart buildings which are expected to command a premium as they will be more attractive to potential tenants due to their prestige and comparatively lower operating costs.

Smart City technologies are likely to expand in scope and revolutionize areas such as healthcare, education and policing

Asset Flexibility: Advances in technology are trans-forming the traditional processes of companies deciding on a location where they would like to do business, buying or leasing an office, fitting it out to their specifications, and installing it with technology for their staff to perform their jobs. The digital age is reversing this process, individuals are in the driving seat and companies' decisions are being informed by connectivity and accessibility, as well as talent attraction and retention. While location will remain important, this will require buildings and workspaces to be far more flexible and adaptable than before. New developments will therefore have to be constructed with flexibility in mind.

Data Centre Demand: Data centres are set to play a leading role in Smart Cities as repositories for massive volume of data required to be collected, stored, analysed, and archived. Data centres are already becoming as important part of business operations in office, retail, and industrial assets, supported by increasingly digital world, IT development and the importance enterprise IT strategy plays in business delivery. This will drive demand for state-of-the-art data centre development in & around the Smart Cities.

While the real estate industry is making rapid progress in development and innovation of Smart Buildings, it is critical that they gain a thorough understanding of how these developments will fit into and align with the broader Smart City ecosystem. In particular, real estate industry stakeholders will need to understand emerging data sources and how they can capitalize on them to inform the development, construction, and management of property assets.