Smarter Cities and Communities Create Jobs
The world needs a green transition and smart city technology can be an important move towards a green direction. The field of smart cities is experiencing growth, creating future possibilities and jobs according to a new Danish analysis
Half of worlds’ population already live in cities and the UN estimates that this number will increase to two out of three people within the next 30 years. The global trend of increasing urbanization causes societal challenges like pollution, traffic density and energy supply. With the Paris Agreement and UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, cities worldwide are engaging in a green transition and smart city technology can support this transition.
A new analysis conducted by DAMVAD Analytics on behalf of Smart City Cluster Denmark, run by Aarhus University, Aalborg University, Technical University of Denmark, Force Technology, Danish Lighting Center and Gate21, indicates that more than 35.000 new, full-time jobs can be created in the next six years within the field of smart cities. There are around 18.000 people employed in the Danish smart city landscape, and this number can increase to more than 50.000 in 2025 if Denmark takes part in the global growth estimated to be around 12-17 percent per year.
“Smart city solutions and technologies that can help in driving the green transition and make traffic density, waste management and energy supply smarter and more sustainable will have a huge potential on the global market. Smart technologies can be a determining factor in reaching UN’s world goals in every city around the world,” said Neel Strøbæk, Senior Corporate Director at Ramboll Group and Chair of the Steering Committee in Smart City Cluster Denmark.
A position of strength
The growth in the demand for smart city technologies is driven by the global mega-trends; urbanization, green transition and digitalization. Denmark already has a strong position on the field of smart cities and communities internationally.
“In Denmark we work with flexible solutions with a citizen-centric approach and we aim to handle the complexity of the digital transformation by always taking the ethical perspective into account. Because of that a lot of countries are looking for inspiration from Denmark when it comes to smart cities and communities,” Martin Brynskov, Associate Professor at Aarhus University and one of the driving forces in Smart City Cluster Denmark explains.
DAMVAD Analytics estimates that around 2300 private companies in Denmark are working within the field of smart cities. Furthermore, Denmark is home for leading knowledge institutions working with smart cities and this combination creates a good starting point for Denmark’s potential for being at the forefront of tomorrows’ smart cities and communities.
The analysis was conducted by DAMVAD Analytics on behalf of Smart City Cluster Denmark, Danish Business Authority, BLOXHUB, State of Green and Gate 21. You can read the full report (in Danish) here.