Big challenges lie ahead for urban planners

What is the biggest hurdle for a technological revolution on the scale of the smart city movement in China?

It's certainly not a lack of interest. Just as the country's construction boom has been a magnetic draw for world-class architects, the nascent smart city market has also attracted people who are not afraid to think big.

George Thomas, general manager of the smart city program for IBM Greater China, has been leading a team implementing smart city solutions in China in recent years.

Peter Lacy, managing director of Accenture Sustaining Services Asia Pacific, moved to Shanghai 20 months ago. He said that although places such as London, New York, Singapore and Amsterdam are important gateways for the company's smart city business, "China is the No 1 priority in the world for us".

According to CCID Consulting, China's market for smart city solutions increased 15.2 percent year-on-year to 137.7 billion yuan ($22.57 billion) in 2012. It's expected to jump to 500 billion yuan in 2015.

Wu Lun, a professor at Peking University and deputy dean of the university's Institute of Digital China, said that the market could even exceed 1 trillion yuan by 2015 if spending on infrastructure, data-processing facilities and service platforms is included.

But Chinese engineers still fear that potential clients, mostly urban governments, may not be so committed financially.

In early October, the first national smart city industry association was founded in Beijing, with more than 100 members ranging from IT companies and equipment makers to consulting firms.

Many member companies of the China Smart Cities Industry Alliance said they are not afraid of competition from international companies, because they have some very advanced solutions on offer.

What they worry about is funding. "Lots of people talk the talk, but walking the walk is what really matters," said an IT engineer who has been engaged in providing solutions for integrated online retirement services.

By contrast, for large or international players, money doesn't seem to be an issue.

One example: China Development Bank, which is commissioned to assist the government's development programs, announced plans to use at least 80 billion yuan to finance smart city programs by 2015. But industry insiders said that they believe the actual amount will be much larger.

More than 95 percent of vice-provincial level cities and 76 percent of prefecture-level cities have submitted proposals to build smart cities, said Peng Sen, deputy director of the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress, the country's top legislature.

Projects ranging from the smart electricity grid to transportation systems, water infrastructure, medical care and environmental protection will be built under the umbrella of smart cities, he said.

"But China's smart city program is a bit different from the West, where the emphasis is on the application of information technology in urban infrastructure," Peng said.