Victoria's largest council begins developing new smart city strategy

Victoria’s most populous local government area has begun developing a new smart city strategy to capitalise on existing smart infrastructure and deliver improved services for ratepayers.

Source: City of Casey

The City of Casey in Melbourne’s southeast is currently seeking feedback from residents and technology suppliers on how it can build on earlier ‘demonstration projects’.

The push comes as the city continues to experience rapid population growth and urbanisation which present diverse challenges to the community, including sustainability, liveability, and economic development.

The current consultation process will inform how the council progresses its use of technology and data to support further developments, after a previous 2017-2021 smart city strategy expires.

A range of smart city infrastructure was put in place under the previous strategy, including connected street furniture that provides free wi-fi, barbecues that monitor usage and notify council when it needs repairs, and smart parking sensors.

It has also established a low power wide area network using LoRaWAN technology with 11 gateways that covers 80 percent of the municipality to support internet of things (IoT) deployments that businesses and residents can tap into.

Council chief executive officer Glenn Patterson said in a post on LinkedIn that these developments are needed now more than ever due to the severe disruption caused by the coronavirus health crisis.

“In order to continue to increase our community’s resilience, and support Casey’s diverse environmental, social and economic needs, council is committed to learning how technology, data and innovation – smart city infrastructure - can unlock new opportunities and help us overcome persistent challenges,” Patterson said.