In many respects the smart city is already with us: phones, laptops, watches, cars, remote sensors and other devices interact, generating, analysing and communicating data, allowing cities to monitor, control and make decisions in real time. From managing traffic signals and road charging in order to reduce congestion and pollution to monitoring and predicting resource usage, allowing more efficient use of energy, the smart city is already shaping our lives. At a personal level we are encouraged to use our phones to engage with government and other service providers. So-called 311 apps in the US allow residents to let city governments know about a wide range of issues through their smartphones, texting photos of broken street lights and potholes and receiving an instant response. Citizens have become the eyes and ears of their cities.

More widely, city authorities are using digital technology to enhance consultation, making data and information openly available, publishing proposals, inviting individuals and communities to engage, and even facilitating the co-design of services and infrastructure through Building Information Modelling (BIM) and City Information Modelling (CIM). Some have even gone as far as to create ‘digital twins’ that allow the modelling of different scenarios and possibilities including the possible impacts of climate change on a city and what actions would help mitigate the consequences.

So far, so worthy and sensible. Yet the ‘smart city’ story is nowhere near its conclusion. The German engineering giant Siemens confidently predicts that:

For IBM, which registered the phrase ‘smarter cities’ as a trademark in 2009, there are mysterious and powerful forces at work, forces that could be harnessed to help cities:

Whilst the smart city has attracted a wide and eager audience, influencing our cities from Bristol to Barcelona, we are only at the first stages of what is envisaged.