The document discusses Britain's Smart Cities Conference that will take place in London. It aims to bring together city leaders and stakeholders to discuss challenges facing cities and how smart technologies can help address issues like infrastructure pressures from urbanization. Speakers will include government officials and industry leaders who will provide insights into developing smart transportation, housing, education and healthcare systems. The goal is for cities to enhance services and decision making through connecting technologies and digital innovation.

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6 Wednesday 21 October 2015 The Daily Telegraph
that new technology offers us. Britain’s
Smart Cities Conference will be an excellent
opportunity for city leaders to discuss the
very latest developments in creating cities
for the future.”
The conference will examine current
smart-city projects and look at the
challenges and opportunities facing city
leaders and major stakeholders as they
embark on formulating and implementing
smart-city strategies.
And those challenges are “considerable,”
says Dan Byles, chair of the recently formed
SmarterUK. “Rapid urbanisation and
changing demographics are leading
to growing pressure on infrastructure and
civic services,” he said.
“We must deal with the significant
implications of these changes on the
planning for future transport systems,
housing and services such as education
and healthcare. Something about our
approach to these challenges has to
change, and quickly.”
This smart movement is being driven
in part by the internet of things (IoT): where
smart machines talk to each other and make
decisions without human input. IoT is a
catch-all for the networks where objects
and people (via wearable technology and
smartphones) have unique identifiers that
enable them to transfer data over a network
without requiring human-to-human or
human-to-computer interaction. It’s a
growing market that analysts say will be
worth more than £194trillion by 2020.
As well as generating significant savings,
such use of technology allows local
authorities to make faster and better
BRITAIN’S SMART
CITIES CONFERENCE
Creating cities for
a brighter future
The Telegraph’s new one-day
conference, Britain’s Smart Cities,
takes place today in London with
leading speakers from government
and commerce, Philip Smith reports
S
mart cities are connected. They use
innovative digital technology to
communicate, share information
and to enhance the quality and
performance of services. Transport
links run more smoothly and cost less,
healthcare is more effective and timely,
and energy use is more efficient.
This is not some concept from the future:
smart cities are here and they are working
now in major conurbations such as Beijing,
Dubai and Amsterdam and in the UK where
Bristol, Manchester and Milton Keynes are
among the pioneering authorities.
The challenge for all major urbanised
areas is to join this movement and use the
best practices being forged by these trials
to become smart cities themselves, using
the latest technology to interconnect and
deliver services that their growing and
increasingly IT-literate populations
expect and need.
When you consider that more than half
of the world’s population now live in urban
areas – and this number is forecast to rise
to 70pc by 2050 – smart systems are now
critical to achieving long-term sustainability.
Which is why today, at The Andaz in
Liverpool Street, London, some of the
leading practitioners in the smart-city
revolution are coming together to deliver
their thoughts and ideas to a wide-ranging
audience at the Telegraph’s Britain’s Smart
Cities conference. Chaired by Allister Heath,
deputy editor at Telegraph Media Group,
speakers include Ed Vaizey, Minister for
Culture and the Digital Economy, and Boris
Johnson, Mayor of London, whose
commitment to better infrastructure has
seen him invest heavily in the capital’s
transport system. He said: “In a rapidly
changing world, we need to work harder
than ever to stay ahead of the game, and to
do so we need to harness the huge potential
In a rapidly changing
world, we need to harness
the huge potential that
technology offers us
Boris Johnson, Mayor of London
decisions about the services and structures
that affect their citizens. That is the ethos
behind the conference: to discuss the
challenges and look at how the existing
programmes are working in practice.
The day-long event will include input
from senior policymakers from government
and industry and the focus will be on how
smart cities facilitate economic growth.
Issues that will be addressed include the
role devolution and taxation policy will play
in developing smart cities; science, culture,
commerce and creativity as key components;
housing and jobs in dynamic and diverse
cities; accessing finance and funding
opportunities and building collaborations
between cities, universities and businesses.
The keynote address, looking at driverless
cars and smart-city development, is by
David Williams, head of underwriting at
AXA UK which, along with Citi, is one of
the top-line sponsors.
Mr Williams said: “Innovation and
technology is at the heart of Britain’s smart
cities. The connected home, wearable
health devices and, ultimately, driverless
cars are all key components that need
insurance solutions. We are a progressive
company always looking for innovative
solutions to help society deal with new and
emerging risks.”
Sanjay Sethi, managing director, public
sector group EMEA, Citi, commented on
the global scale of urbanisation and its
impact on citizens. He said: “Cities are a big
focus for Citi. Some 100million people are
moving to cities every year and nearly 70pc
of the world’s population is expected to be
urban by 2050.
“These massive population and economic
shifts are having a profound impact on city
life the world over. Citi is proud to support
the Telegraph’s inaugural Britain’s Smart
Cities Conference, a fantastic opportunity to
share our global knowledge of helping the
world’s cities progress.”
If collaboration is the key to connected,
smart cities, this is a must-attend event.
The event runs from 9am to 5pm. Visit
telegraph.co.uk/bsc for more information,
and follow the conference on Twitter by
using the hashtag #telegraphbsc
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7The Daily Telegraph Wednesday 21 October 2015
TELEGRAPH
BUSINESS EVENTS
IN ASSOCIATION
WITH AXA AND CITI
ALAMY
Boris Johnson MP
Mayor of London and
MP for Uxbridge and
South Ruislip
Under Mr Johnson’s
tenure as mayor, the capital has
enjoyed record investment in
transport. He made jobs and
growth his key second-term
priority. Last year he launched
his 2020 Vision for London
based on prioritising house
building, investment in road and
rail infrastructure, support for
financial services and the tech
sector, and low tax rates.
Sir Howard Bernstein
Chief executive,
Manchester City
Council
Sir Howard
introduced and expanded the
Metrolink tram system and
established Manchester Airport
plc. He led negotiations with
the Government to secure
a groundbreaking agreement for
Greater Manchester, enabling the
devolution of powers in relation
to transport, housing, planning,
business support, work and skills
and early-years services.
Mark Prisk MP
Chairman,
All-party
parliamentary group
on smart cities
Mr Prisk is the MP for Hertford
and Stortford. A member of
the communities and local
government select committee,
he takes a close interest in
housing and planning,
infrastructure and cities, and is a
former minister for business and
enterprise, and for housing and
local government.
Matthew Gorman
Sustainability and
environment director,
Heathrow
Mr Gorman leads the
team that sets the airport’s
Responsible Heathrow 2020
goals – 10 targets to maximise
economic and social benefits
and reduce environmental
impacts. He went on to lead the
establishment of the Heathrow
Sustainability Partnership and is
a council member of Sustainable
Aviation, a coalition of UK
airlines, manufacturers, airports
and air traffic controllers.
Stephen Hilton
Director, Bristol
Futures, Bristol
City Council
Mr Hilton is interested
in what makes cities smart and
liveable. As Bristol’s first director
of futures, he has helped it
become European Green Capital
2015, a Rockefeller Global
Resilient city, a Super Connected
City and an internationally
recognised Smart City.
Geoff Snelson
Director of strategy,
Milton Keynes Council
Mr Snelson is involved
in influencing
strategies and major projects to
secure the long-term economic
success and sustainability of
Milton Keynes, which is the
fastest growing place in the UK.
Mr Snelson’s current projects
include the Milton Keynes Future
City programme, varied smart
city projects and intelligent (and
driverless) mobility.
Steve Turner
Head of future cities,
Manchester City
Council
Mr Turner is strategic
lead for the design, delivery and
co-ordination of the Manchester
Future Cities programme.
Recently he secured strategic
relationships with China, leading
work on the EU-China Smart
City Forum, and establishing
joint collaboration projects with
Digital China and Wuhan.
Dan Byles
Chair,
SmarterUK
Dan Byles chairs the
independent UK
smart-city trade association
SmarterUK, bringing together
stakeholders from all sectors,
championing smart-city
development within the UK.
Before joining Living PlanIT,
Mr Byles was an MP serving on
the energy and climate change
select committee, and the
science and technology
committee. He has strong
expertise in energy, environment
and clean-tech policy.
Allister Heath
Deputy editor,
Telegraph Media
Group
Mr Heath is deputy
editor and deputy director of
content at the Telegraph. In
addition to his broader editorial
responsibilities, he leads the
business, comment, personal
finance and technology
departments. He chaired the
2020 Tax Commission, which in
2012 released a report on the
future of the UK tax system.
Enrico Motta
Professor of
knowledge
technologies,
Open University;
director, MK:Smart
Professor Motta has a PhD
in artificial intelligence from the
Open University, where he
is a professor in knowledge
technologies. His research
focuses on making sense of large
amounts of data. He leads MK:
Smart, a £16m initiative that aims
to tackle key barriers to economic
growth in Milton Keynes.
Victoria Hills
Chief executive
officer, Old Oak
and Park Royal
Development
Corporation (OPDC)
Ms Hills is a chartered town
planner, working across local
government, consultancy and at
the Greater London Authority. In
2014, she moved on to set up the
mayor’s new Old Oak and Park
Royal Mayoral Development
Corporation where she has since
become chief executive officer.
Andrew Collinge
Assistant director,
Smart City Lead,
Greater London
Authority
In 2013, Mr Collinge led on the
development of the Mayor of
London’s strategy document
2020 Vision – The Greatest City
on Earth. He is the authority’s
lead officer on the Smart City
Agenda, supporting the work
of the Smart London Board.
Dylan Roberts
Chief information
officer, Leeds
City Council
Mr Roberts is
involved in leading a range of
collaborative change initiatives,
including the Leeds Smart
Cities programme. Recent
achievements include the
development of the innovation-
hub approach to smart-city
solutions and the Leeds Data Mill.
Ed Vaizey MP
Minister for Culture
and the Digital
Economy,
Department for
Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)
Mr Vaizey became Minister of
State at the DCMS and the
Department for Business,
Innovation and Skills last July.
He was previously Under
Secretary of State for Culture,
Communications and Creative
Industries, responsible for digital
economy strategy, cyber-
security and future technologies.
Caroline Gorski
Head of business
development,
internet of things,
Telefónica
Ms Gorski is a strategy
consultant with a background
in strategic market development
and commercial decision-making
at FTSE 100 board level.
She and her team at the
telecomms company work in
innovative client and technology
provider partnerships to deliver
transformational business ideas.
Nathan Doughty
Chief operating
officer, Asite
Mr Doughty has
been delivering
cloud solutions for construction
for 18 years. He was part of the
working group that developed
the British Standards for building
information modelling.
Jen Hawes-Hewitt
Global cities strategy
director, Accenture
Ms Hawes-Hewitt
leads a team of
techology strategists, working
with city governments to deliver
operational excellence, drive
cross-agency collaboration and
adapt in the digital age.
David Williams
Head of underwriting,
AXA UK
Mr Williams has
more than 30 years’
experience in general insurance
roles. He is a member of the
AXA Group P&C Board and
has represented the UK on
asbestos, health, pollution and
fraud issues.
Sanjay Sethi,
Managing director,
EMEA Public Sector
Group, Citi
Mr Sethi is a
managing director in the Public
Sector Group covering Europe,
the Middle East and Africa . He
has had leadership roles within
Citi across Europe, the Middle
East, Africa and Asia and was
the Middle East lead for “Citi for
Cities” – Citibank’s path-breaking
global collaboration to bring
cutting edge solutions to cities.
Sean Weir
Director
Smart M2M, Arqiva
Mr Weir led Arqiva’s
successful two-year
bid for the government smart
metering contract under which
Arqiva was awarded the
communications services for the
North of England and Scotland.
Brian McGuigan
Commercial director,
Europe, Smart City
Solutions, Silver
Spring Networks
Mr McGuigan has worked in the
development and large-scale
deployment of innovative
services and technology across
the smart-city, energy and
medical sectors. At Silver Spring
Mr McGuigan has worked with
leading cities on data platforms
and flexible communication.
Martin Townsend
Director of
sustainability,
BRE
Mr Townsend has
a diverse background covering
all aspects of the built
environment from advising UK
ministers, working as a regulator
in the Environment Agency, and
on construction sites as a civil
engineer. He works closely with
the construction industry on
sustainability issues.
Heather
Cheesbrough
Director, strategic
planning,
regeneration and
economic development, London
Borough of Hounslow
Ms Cheesbrough is a landscape
architect and town planner. She
is leading on the planning of the
Heathrow hinterland area, which
includes the concept of a “New
Heathrow garden city” that
would work with the airport to
deliver infrastructure and growth
within the region.
Scott Cain
Chief business officer,
Future Cities Catapult
Mr Cain developed
the Technology
Strategy Board’s investment
case and led the £34.5m Future
Cities Demonstrator programme.
He co-founded and chaired
Global Entrepreneurship Week
and was Enterprise UK chief
executive. He is founding partner
of The Long Run Venture.
INSPIRATIONAL GUEST SPEAKERS WITH A WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE AND EXPERTISE
Britain’s Smart Cities allows city leaders and major stakeholders to share examples of innovative urban projects. As well as the Mayor of London,
Boris Johnson MP, discover who else will be speaking
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