Manchester plugs into internet innovation

MANCHESTER’s politicians hope to attract investment and jobs from high-tech firms after the city was chosen to lead a £2m Europe-wide ‘Smart Cities’ internet initiative.

Manchester Digital Development Agency (MDDA) will run the programme and oversee the distribution of new internet devices to residents which feed back real-time information about environmental conditions such as air quality and temperature, traffic congestion, and bus and tram availability.

The information, and the views of people living and working in the city, will be used to help the council and transport operators to improve the planning and delivery of services.

The Smart Innovation and People project (SMART-IP) – which starts this month and will run for two years – will bring together Manchester City Council, researchers from the University of Manchester on future internet services and the award-winning community reporters programme run by Manchester charity People’s Voice Media.

Manchester will be working closely with other ‘Smart Cities’ across Europe including Ghent, Cologne, Bologna and Oulo in Finland.

Council leader Sir Richard Leese, said: “This initiative will complement our Greater Manchester Strategy which sets out our ambitious vision for the city region by 2020. The future internet project will build on our next generation access broadband plans to provide ultra-fast connection speeds and ensure that local residents have a direct say in how we develop new services as a smart city of the future.”