MAPPING OF SMART CITIES, SMART COUNTIES AND SMART VILLAGES IN ROMANIA IN 2021 – 860 PROJECTS IN 124 CITIES. This is an article written by Cornel Barbut, and published firstly on the Vegacomp Consulting website, and the in Romanian press. The present work talks about the state of the smart cities in Romania, Alba Iulia still being on the first place within this edition radiography.
Bucharest, June 8, 2021 – The turn-key smart solutions integrator Vegacomp Consulting launches the 5th edition of the Mapping of Smart Counties, Cities and Villages in Romania, and the June 2021 report (English version) mapping-of-smart-counties-cities-and-villages_2021.07.16 brings forth 860 initiatives of Smart Cities, planned, in progress or finalized, in 124 large, medium and small cities, compared to the 594 projects in 87 cities in June 2020 – a substantial growth on the year.
“We see, in this report, a positive aspect, especially at the level of the administration’s response to the needs of distancing and de-bureaucratization: beyond the evolution of the leader – Smart Mobility, the Smart Governance vertical, on the second place in the ranking, counts no less of 226 projects that, we hope, make life easier for the Romanians. But, as in previous reports, we also have the eternal losers – Smart Environment and Smart People, on the already known positions, at the bottom of the rankings. The environment and the people, absolute priorities in a society that knows its values and allocates its priorities to future generations, are neglected by the Romanian Smart City industry. Also, in this report, we see not only the financing from European and public funds, but also the first significant private projects and we are keen to see the future of the private financing component, in Smart City,” said Cornel Bărbuț, CEO, Vegacomp Consulting.
The chart of the first cities, ranked on the number of projects planned, in progress, or delivered, still has the same leader, Alba Iulia, but with a stagnant number of projects, without other significant developments. Iasi comes strongly from behind and closes the gap, rising to the third position. The ranking consists in: Alba Iulia (106), Cluj-Napoca (58), Iași (56), Bucharest (39), Bucharest – Sector 4 (35), Arad (29), Sibiu (27), Oradea and Timișoara (26), Brașov (18).
The medium cities chart is dominated by Alba Iulia (106), Arad (29), and Sibiu (27), while the podium of the small cities lists Avrig (10), Făgăraș (7) and, all tied in third place, Odorheiu Secuiesc, Aiud and Hârșova (6).
“If we switch the discussion from the type of solutions to their geography, at the city level, we notice that the Smart City engine, once started, keeps a hard-to-match pace. The big cities, which have already tasted the efficiency of Smart City solutions and have taken concrete steps in this direction, keep their lead, the top 10 is composed of almost the same names, with some switches in position, but the advance over followers is increasing. The nice surprises come, however, from medium and small cities, which sometimes impress with their ambition and openness to the adoption of Smart City solutions. And here, a slightly smaller but more cohesive local community, along with a more open administration, which moves more agilely than some large and perhaps overly bureaucratic cities, can more easily bring forth smart solutions to the benefit of residents,” adds Bărbuț.
The old leader, by verticals, is also confirmed by this edition, and its position is strengthened by the pandemic context – Smart Mobility, which stands out significantly today, especially in the context of increased attention to safety and health, which is also reflected in how we deal with transportation – covered by no less than 260 projects, almost 75 more than in the previous report. At a relatively constant distance follows Smart Governance, with 226 projects, up from last year’s 130 projects, a vertical that consolidates its second position in the ranking. The podium is completed by Smart Living, with 174 projects, the equivalent of an advance of 53 initiatives, compared to 2020. And Smart Economy maintains its fourth place, with 99 projects and a slight advance of 15 initiatives. The last two positions list Smart Environment, with 64 projects, increasing from the 42 in 2020 and, respectively, Smart People, with only 37 initiatives and an advance of only 8 new projects, over the last 12 months.
The report, which lists, for the first time, the components of Smart Village – Smart Community with 69 projects and Smart County with 29 projects, is fully available, free of charge, on the www.vegacomp.ro website, for any user or company interested in the evolution of the Smart City market in Romania.
