News

Renowned international expert on establishment of Smart City communities visited Togliatti

24 January 2014

Mr. W. Hutchison, CEO of the Center of smart city innovations of Ernst&Young and the chairman of i-Canada Alliance, visited the city of Togliatti to meet the city mayor Sergey Andreev and a number of the city hall specialists along with people from organizations responsible for urban design-related issues. The purpose of his visit was to share his vast experience in integration of smart city technologies and caution against the mistakes most often made by municipalities around the world in their efforts to implement similar projects. Among other meeting attendants were Mrs. Irina Sveshnikova, head of staff of the city hall, Mrs. Elena Balashova, head of telecommunications department, the representatives of the department of economic development and dependent institutions.

Within the discussion with the city administration management, Mr. Hutchison held a presentation indicating the key issues essential for establishment of the smart city system. According to Bill Hutchison, the systemic approach to the project implementation will make provisions for creating of comfortable living conditions, help in promoting of additional investments, and assist in finding solutions to long-term environmental problems. The cities of Toronto (Canada) and Hong Kong were mentioned by the expert as key examples of successful implementation of the smart city project. After the rehabilitation of Waterfront area of Toronto, a new residential area was created, accommodating 120 thousand people. Besides, 40 thousand additional jobs were created, and many recreational areas laid out.

In conclusion of the meeting, Mr. Hutchison noted that Togliatti has all the necessary pre-conditions to become a very modern, comfortable and investor-appealing city.