Welcome to Tel Aviv. In one of the main streets of the city selected in 2014 for the smartest city in the world, the Municipal Innovation Center (MIC) was recently launched, which was designed and produced by Orpan Group for Local Government Center in Israel. Here, in one place presented to the visitor a varied of technological results that offer a comprehensive solution to the scope of challenges and needs that spring up because of the rapid population growth and concentration in large, crowded metropolises.
The uplifting tone of the visit is that the future is already here.
This is a showcase for local government technological digital innovation displaying trends, developments and technological solutions.
The center is also serving as an innovative arena for the activity and exposure of events, exhibitions and strategic partners of all kind of governmental entities.
Let’s go
The tour opens with a spectacular video mapping display conveying the vision of the ‘smart city’ through a global prism, and its implementation in Israel. Using augmented reality technology, visitors will navigate and get to know governmentprojects throughout the country.When the activity is done, a wide view opens up
- Visitors are now invited to enter the innovation HUB
- An impressive space, with a multi-purpose platform for a variety of activities and changing audiences.
- Here we encourage creative thinking, brainstorming, live streaming and special training sessions
- Visitors learn about the principles of synergy between urban systems and their latest developments, while analyzing case studies of cities in Israel
Next, visitors can further research at the personalized terminal stations using a variety of experiential display platforms. Each terminal enables in-depth study with a variety of technological means in accordance to specific subjects
A multi-functional wall enables easy transition between the changing exhibits, graphics and media, and the urban landscape. A “municipal Online News” post showcases real time content and news.”Wisdom of the crowds” station allows online sharing by guests. Additionally, space offers a place for meetings, device charging and leisure. The space can change with a click of a button enabling various and controlled environments
The visit is documented in an online archive that being set up specifically for the Center. A digital backup system will support the array of all companies’ digital platforms municipal Innovation Center – a digital connection in a municipal world.
When the vision meets reality: a challenge and its name is soot
7 floors down, at the foundation of the state-of-the-art luxury tower where MIC is located, we fill a slightly different Reality.The bus roar is accompanied by traffic jams and troubled drivers searching for vacant parking places, sidewalks laden with businessmen exiting the towers and making their way to lunch, along with schoolchildren waiting long for the latest shuttle to arrive – noise and crowding still characterize the busy urban areas.
This scenario is part of the daily reality for many of the metropolitan residents and visitors around the universe. Population density, air pollution, traffic jams and inefficient utilization of municipal space – all significantly impair the quality of life in the city. Since more than half of the world’s population currently resides in cities, a growing rate year by year and is expected to reach as much as 70% by 2050, the future requires us to think, design and set up an appropriate urban model.
The Smart City Vision tries to address many of the challenges that big busy cities face. The smart city model not only permits to minimize many of the problems, but also to address important matters that have not previously received public attention, with the object of establishing the urban area greener, healthier, more social and much more convenient for residents and visitors to the city.
The wisdom of cities: Knowledge is power
Smart cities are cities that can disseminate and analyze metrics for information entry and analysis. The analysis lets you know how to utilize urban resources in the most efficient and convenient way possible: Analyzing the movement of vehicles and people in real-time, for example, may save time for all of us waiting for traffic lights and traffic jams. Placing air pollution indicators can help us identify the force that emit harmful substances to our bodies(Especially after the days of the Corona virus). Systems that enable large-scale data analysis quickly and efficiently will allow us to better plan the city, the convenience and well-being of its residents, employees and visitors. Good and efficient communication with residents and visitors, through dedicated Apps and sites, will enable the flow of knowledge between the authorities and residents and visitors, and make available information in real time. However, Raw knowledge is unlikely to be enough to bring us unique solutions to the complex problems we confront. To do this, we need to encourage innovation, creativity and thinking outside the box.
The illustration creates a reality
The advantage that a center like MIC has, as stated, is the vision. The small details are the ones that make the big difference, and in this case – they are the ones who can present the visitor with the reality picture of the possible future. Following a standard smart city presentation will not compare to its essence of meeting directly with existing projects and contacting existing developments.A glance into the outline of future cities, including complex illustration models, which exhibit different ways of transport design and a deep layer of “breathable” green, can certainly expose decision-makers to a coherent picture of a smart city, and even gradually adopt appropriate new technologies.
To conclude, I chose to quote Yaron Meiri -owner of Orpan Group at the RE 360 conference held in Istanbul at the end of 2019: “Experiential exposure to the new concept of the smart city, leading to the recognition and internalization of its many advantages over the existing situation – may lead us straight into the future. And this feature is only getting better!”
 The spot that lets you update and be updated in the urban action){kind=link}