Over the last few years, the city of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, has been heavily using the information and communication technology to bring the government closer to the citizens under the umbrella of its Smart City Plan. It has adopted solutions that are helping the city to become more inclusive and to provide better quality of life.
The basis for the development of the Smart City Plan for Rio de Janeiro was the expansion of the local government’s telecommunications network, which has intensified the presence of the government throughout the city, and a digital inclusion program, an important indicator that tracks the population’s access to new technologies particularly in disadvantage communities across the city.
The Smart City Plan consists of initiatives and projects that integrate the strategic planning of the local government and further strengthen the citizens’ relationship with the city and the government.
Among the smart services offered by the municipal government are the monitoring and operation of the city’s operations center (COR), which enhances integration between agencies and utilities, supporting the local government’s decision-making process.
A series of structural interventions in the transport and mobility area is in progress in Rio de Janeiro. They include, for example, the construction of exclusive transport corridors and the integration of various means of transportation with the launch of the Unified Ticket of Rio de Janeiro.
The technology projects that are in progress include the modernization of the infrastructure of the traffic equipment network such as traffic lights, variable message signs, cameras, and other sensors, in addition to the real-time monitoring of the bus fleet. This whole network is integrated into COR, which also receives information from urban mobility operations centers such as BRT, MetrôRio utilities, and Supervia Urban Trains.
Other initiatives are also being deployed, such as “Digital Traffic,” which monitors and reports in real time the path of the main routes.
Public spaces are monitored, and technology is used to maximize resources and reposition teams in events in the city. The municipal guards have radios, smartphones, and GPS in cars.
The COR has a strong partnership with the CICC, bound to the Department of Public Security of the State of Rio de Janeiro. This partnership allows a job aligned with the emergency services of the Military Police, SAMU (ambulances), fire emergencies, and state civil defense.
The CICC and COR are composed of fiber channel and have a cooperation agreement for sharing data and information.
In recent years, the government of Rio de Janeiro has implemented a series of actions that contributed to the restoration and preservation of the environment. To improve air quality, the MonitorArRio Program, in charge of monitoring the city’s air quality, has been expanded. The program currently has eight fixed stations that analyze particles and gases. There is also a mobile unit, which verifies each part of the city over a period of three months.
Data on air quality from all regions is accessible from the website of the Municipal Department of the Environment and in daily newsletters published by COR. Based on this data, emergency situations can be identified and the population can be warned.
The local government has been working on initiatives on energy efficiency, with the challenge of identifying impact solutions for the city of Rio de Janeiro. The Program for Modernization of the Street Lighting Network, for example, includes geo-referenced mapping of the street lighting network of the city, cataloging points of light and equipment. The program also focuses on the development of a Master Plan for Street Lighting and the replacement of technology with LED and solar energy.
