Cities should take the lead on any national initiative focused on their future

Among its 37 recommendations are two new ministers, a statutory office for a national chief planner, better broadband, the 30-minute city and yet another reprise of the high-speed rail. So far I haven’t come across any significant media coverage of the report, and I am not holding my breath that any of this is implemented.

It certainly is an interesting report and any initiative that focuses on communities and cities is positive indeed. However, in  contrast to the strategy and structure for implementation that is recommended in the report, I very strongly believe that such a national plan should be developed by the cities and supported by state and federal government.

It should be a bottom-up approach rather than a top-down one. So far, anything that is done from the top-down is politically influenced and not based on what would be the best for the people in the cities.

Under the National Smart City Plan small hand-outs are given away that are not based on any strategic plan – such hand-outs are often based on election cycles rather than a strategic vision.

Also, city deals are often based on party politics, and again it is not always the cities that are best-positioned to properly execute a city deal that are selected by the federal government. I can’t see that this new top-down approach will be much different under the recommendations in this report.

There is a clear shift taking place, where cities around the globe are adopting a leadership role. Cities are coming together and are creating a political force whereby they are placed in charge of a city plan.

In some of these countries the cities are writing that national smart city plan, sponsored by the federal government. There is far less political tension at a city level and in most cases political parties there are working together without too much party politics involved, a direct opposite of what is happening federally.

Furthermore, they are facing very similar challenges and it is not necessary to continually reinvent the wheel. It is also a waste of time and money that each city sends out its own smart city mission to the same cities around the globe.

National and global collaboration and coordination are critical elements here, but it would be much better if cities were to be given the support and resources to develop such a national cities plan from the bottom up very much so in collaboration with the states and the feds, as those levels of government have the money – cities don’t have the money.

I am working with eight of the leading smart cities in Australia (Adelaide, Bendigo, Canberra, Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Sydney – Greater Sydney Commission, Ipswich and Moreton Bay) and they all broadly agree with the above-mentioned approach, but don’t have the structure, resources or finances to start creating such a collaborative.

I have proposed that the Council of Capital City Lord Mayors takes on this leadership role as it has a structure that could facilitate such an approach as well as collaboration with other cities. I have been asked to provide further information on this, which I aim to do in coming weeks.

In countries where cities are collaborating we also see that cities are taking individual leadership in particular areas/sectors, such as mobility/transportation, smart energy, water management, healthcare and communication 

If cities combine forces, information and pilots can be shared and other cities can learn from those sector leaders. Such an approach saves lots of money.

To support this, in Australia, about 25 companies and a dozen universities have expressed support for such a city-based collaborative and have indicated they are willing to work with cities to achieve the best possible outcomes for their citizens.

So, while the report does address the correct issues, it does not, in my view, recommend the best possible strategy and structure to make this happen.