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London backing smart city technologies as market expected to grow to £8.9bn by 2020

A new report released today by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has outlined the potential key role London can play in the emerging smart city technologies market.

The ‘Future of Smart’ report, which serves as an update on the city’s progress in meeting the conditions of the Mayor’s Smart London Plan published in December 2013, reaffirms the capital’s commitment to capitalising on the potential £8.9bn smart city technologies market by 2020.

Quoting figures from engineering consultancy Arup which estimate that London has the potential to capture 1% of the worldwide smart city technologies market, the report has also set out recommendations for the future Mayor in capitalising on the city’s ‘smart’ credentials.

The report explains that, while diverse and hard to categorise, over half of London’s potential contribution to the market, equating to roughly £4.6bn, could come from the smart energy, transport and mobility, healthcare and environmental infrastructure sectors combined.

With the capital’s population expected to surge to over 10m people by 2036 and with 5m more trips per day on London’s public transport by 2031, smart city technologies are also being tipped as the means by which such growth can be accommodated.

As part of a number of recommendations, the report recommends that the new Mayor should:

• Make it easier for central government and the private sector to access open data and find secure ways for the exchange of secure data relating to the city
• Appoint a Chief Digital Officer to enhance the city’s leadership in data and technology
• Support the easing of regulatory barriers for the adoption of smart energy services
• Look to crowdfunding as a way of solving some of London’s infrastructure problems.

Following the launch of the report, Boris Johnson said: “London’s population is growing at a record rate and our technology entrepreneurs are in pole position to harness the great potential new tech offers to lead the capital forward.

“This city has made huge strides in developing every type of technology and it can help us secure the capital’s future as the best big city in the world.”

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