According to the United Nations, 68% of the world’s population will live in urban areas by 2050. This will have a major impact on the way cities will have to plan and run public spaces. Understanding traffic flow insights will be key to optimise mobility in those public spaces. In this project, urban lighting infrastructure was used to test a solution for measuring traffic flow at key intersections. An AI- powered edge computing device was used and installed in public light poles. These devices feature two vision sensors that are used for multiple traffic applications. This project aims to develop a new paradigm of localisable, interoperable, cyber- secure, resilient, distributed, autonomous, and connected urban infrastructure that will serve as the backbone for the implementation of enabling technologies and equipment for the transition to a smart city. Three demonstration pilots were installed in the municipalities of Cascais, Loures, and Oeiras, covering 9 intersections. The results show that this solution is suitable for traffic monitoring and will be a source of information for future projects in the studied locations.
Introduction
The United Nations predicts that by 2050, urban areas will be home to 68% of the global population [1] . This will affect how cities will have to organise and manage public spaces, as they accommodate distinct traits of human behaviour, such as, play, social interaction, creativity, economic activities, and entertainment. When planning for new areas, many sustainable development principles can be readily implemented as information is available to make informed decisions. However, this is more challenging in historic and consolidated areas. In urban contexts, public space plays a key role in making cities liveable. Public space is not easy to define and has very different features and elements, depending on cultural and geographical contexts. Public space is any accessible place that brings people together on a public basis. It includes public squares, market places, monuments, parks, public beaches, riverbanks as well as pavements and streets.It is not enough for a city to provide sufficient space for public use; it must also ensure that the space is well-maintained and managed so that it can serve its purpose effectively.
This raises further questions about the quality of the public space, such as how to make it safe and accessible to all users, and how to finance the costs of creating and maintaining such spaces. Cities will use new technologies and innovation to deal with current and future problems in areas like transport and mobility or citizen engagement making them digital (or "smart"). Cities will also need to become more connected to make timely use of high- quality data to improve urban management and take quick corrective action to mitigate conflicts in urban spaces [2] . One of the main challenges facing smart cities is how to manage traffic congestion and improve mobility for their citizens. Traffic affects not only the efficiency and productivity of urban life, but also the environment, health, and safety of people. Therefore, it is crucial for smart cities to monitor and optimise traffic flow using innovative solutions based on data and technology. In this research, we developed a prototype specifically designed for smart city applications. This prototype, hosted in the public lighting infrastructure, measured traffic flow at key intersections of three municipalities in the Lisbon metropolitan area.
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