BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb.3
By Sadraddin Aghjayev - Trend:
The concept of the ‘Smart city’ and ‘Smart village’ projects will be implemented in Azerbaijan's liberated territories (Karabakh region) and will meet the global challenges, Gunay Guliyeva, chief analyst of the Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communications said, Trend reports.
According to Guliyeva, the Karabakh region will become a center of interest for technological investments, as well as services for the experience of introducing smart city technologies in other regions.
"The concentration of large numbers of people in cities is one of the main causes of climate change. According to a report by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), more than 70 percent of global gas emissions are from cities. Urban residents themselves are more vulnerable to the many impacts of climate change," she said.
Besides, the analyst noted that for the first time, world leaders of states seriously discussed the concept of a ‘Smart City' at the G20 summit in Osaka in 2019.
“During this discussion, it was also announced that an alliance was formed to define the necessary global framework that would bring together existing businesses and organizations working to create such spaces,” she also noted.
As Guliyeva pointed out, the creation of smart cities in the modern world can also eliminate many of the problems caused by globalization and the fourth industrial revolution. In addition, making cities more resilient, inclusive, and safer has been identified as one of the UN Sustainable Cities Goals.
"In general, in order to create the concept of a Smart City in the territories liberated from the occupation, it’s necessary first of all to apply international experience, to use mainly information and communication technologies for implementation and promotion of the concept at the next stage,” said the analyst. “By introducing such solutions for the Smart City, we can influence various indicators of quality of life, such as safety, time and comfort, health, quality of the environment, social ties and citizen participation, control of jobs.”
She noted that the Smart City technologies provide new avenues for economic development, with the ability to improve the health and prosperity of citizens. The adoption of cloud technology in renewable sources could accelerate the recovery of the region and make the region interesting for tech investors.
Guliyeva added that the implementation of Smart City projects in the territories liberated from the occupation could play a fundamental role in accelerating the flow of innovative and technological investments in this region, as well as in creating innovation centers and technology parks in Karabakh.
"The application of the Smart City solution will allow conduct real-time monitoring of public safety and crime mapping, detect the sources by the sounds of gunfire, identify potential hot spots in the area and preventing crimes. These tasks can also be achieved through the services offered by the Azerspace satellite," she summed up.
The territories had been liberated from Armenian occupation as a result of the 44-day war (from late Sept. through early Nov.2020).
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