Smart Cities, 2022 Update - Thematic Research

Smart Cities, 2022 Update - Thematic Research

Summary

By 2050, nearly 70% of the world’s population will live in cities, compared to 50% today. Increased urbanization is already causing infrastructure headaches for cities, which will only worsen. These challenges are driving the creation of smart cities, a market that will be worth $442.5 billion by 2025, according to GlobalData forecasts, up from $221.1 billion in 2019.

Cities have changed. The pandemic has disrupted their natural rhythm, and they need rebooting. Work, education, and socializing have been forced online, changing transportation and energy consumption habits. The weaknesses in urban health infrastructures have been exposed. Businesses have suffered. New variants and poor rollouts of booster vaccines could further disrupt the stability cities have achieved. Cities that learn from the pandemic will become more resilient. Those that do not will remain vulnerable.

Cyberattacks are a major threat to smart city infrastructure. Cities have enough problems fending off cyberattacks when they are not truly connected. According to Barracuda Networks, 44% of all ransomware attacks in 2020 targeted municipalities. A 2018 attack on Atlanta cost taxpayers $17 million. In 2021, Tulsa in the US and Liege in Belgium suffered attacks. The impact of sustained attacks on smart cities could be devastating, with interconnected IoT systems meaning access to one city system could mean access to many for hackers.

Cities will be severely impacted by climate change. A survey of 1,000 cities by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) found that 93% faced significant climate hazards that put people and infrastructure at risk. Climate-related threats to cities include floods, severe heatwaves, and diminishing water sources. City digital twins will prove invaluable for limiting carbon emissions and simulating (and preparing for) climate disasters. Smart water metering and leakage detection technologies will become essential as water supplies diminish and urban demand grows.

Scope

• This report provides an overview of the smart cities theme.
• It identifies the key trends impacting growth of the theme over the next 12 to 24 months, split into three categories: technology trends, macroeconomic trends, and regulatory trends.
• It includes comprehensive industry analysis, including forecasts for global smart cities spending to 2025.
• It contains details of M&A deals driven by the smart cities theme, and a timeline highlighting milestones in the development of smart cities.
• The detailed value chain illustrates how smart cities fit into the IoT technology stack. The report covers three layers of the smart cities value chain: the platform layer, the app layer, and the services layer.

• Smart cities is an important market that attracts substantial investment. GlobalData expects it to grow from $221.1 billion in 2019 to $442.6 billion in 2025 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12%.
• This report is a clear and insightful overview of this increasingly important theme, telling you everything you need to know about what makes a city smart and which companies are benefitting from increased urbanization.