What Makes A Smart City?

Guy Perry, president, cities & strategy, Essel Infraprojects, has definitive ideas on what makes a Smart City

- Jayashree Kini-Mendes

To do good, and do it right. More importantly, to do right by the people. That is Guy Perry’s motivation. As president (cities and strategy) at Essel Infraprojects (EIL), Perry believes that a good action must go somewhere and it is with this thought he moved to India early this year armed with three decades of experience in urban planning, designing and developing ‘wise’ cities.

Not for him just a smart city. It has to be wise too. A wise city, says Perry, is one that will be sustainable for generations to come. And although deployment of technology is inevitable, such a city will look at different aspects of development and movement systems, people’s well-being and the impact on the environment. He should know. In his earlier stints across Asia, Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and the Americas, he has created and redeveloped and designed cities that today stand as icons that other countries could emulate.

Over the last couple of years, Essel Infraprojects Ltd has been betting big on integrating its Smart Utilities model, so that it can set the pace for building integrated smart cities in the country. At a time when the Indian government has selected 20 cities that will be the first to receive funds, of the 98 short-listed, to convert them into smart cities, EIL is looking at transforming the quality of life of citizens. And this is where Perry comes in. His novel ideas will help the company bid for and execute the projects to make a huge difference to its citizens. For starters, he affirms that “whatever we do in India has to be done on its own terms. That doesn’t mean we cannot be inspired by what has been done in other parts of the world. But there are specific challenges here. I would like to think that we will find the right balance of technological innovations that will establish a better framework of life for the people here. And this needs to be done in a short span of time”.