The city of Bristol, in the west of England, is continuing to develop its status as a test bed for smart technology. The forward-thinking city is not simply placing smart cities infrastructure on top of the existing city and encouraging citizens to adapt; it is adapting the city to its citizens by allowing them to play with smart city elements in these experimental phases. This bottom-up approach has put Bristol at the forefront of smart city developments. “We are looking to give people the ability to interact, work and play with the city that they live in. Connectivity is key: most broadband or wireless providers have tended to provide connectivity based on what businesses’ currently need rather than providing additional capacity, where people can gain access to more bandwidth than they need to get started”, said Stephen Hilton, Futures Director at Bristol City Council. Part of Bristol’s success as a test bed for smart city […]