The Welsh Government recently announced a package of support to revitalise Welsh town centres. The aim is to enable businesses to plan projects which lead to economic growth as well as helping them make the best use of digital technology. This includes utilising data to help firms better understand their customer base and trends which will support businesses in their future planning and marketing activities. This will be achieved through ‘The Year of SMART Towns’ and is closely aligned with the Welsh Government’s Transforming Towns agenda and wider funding for town centres.
What is a SMART Town?
A smart town is an urban area that uses different types of electronic methods and sensors to collect data. Insights gained from that data are used to manage assets, resources and services efficiently; in return, that data is used to improve the operations and future prosperity across the town.
Aims of the Year of SMART Towns:
- To raise awareness of SMART technology, its application and its benefits in towns across Wales.
- To encourage a dialogue around SMART agenda on a local, regional and national level.
- To develop ‘SMART Town literacy’ among individuals and groups involved in town centre regeneration on a local, regional and national level.
- To highlight examples of best practice and use cases in towns in Wales.
- To facilitate information sharing and collaboration between local, regional and national stakeholders.
- To gain intelligence on the data available to towns in order to make informed decisions at a local, regional and national basis.
Who is delivering the project?
The project is being led by Menter Môn who have been piloting a range of SMART and IoT interventions over recent years. They also organised the SMART Town Masterclass series in partnership with Welsh Government.
Also on the delivery team is Clive Davies, who has driven the adoption of SMART technology in Cardigan; and Linda Chandler from Hyperlocal Cities, who has multinational experience in SMART Cities.
Contact: smarttowns@mentermon.com
Useful links:
YouTube Trefi SMART Towns Cymru - YouTube
For further information please visit Smart Towns — Enterprise Hub (hwbmenter.cymru)