How Blockchain Tech Can Help Create Smart Cities

Blockchain tech is the new catalyst deemed to bring in remarkable changes in business and society. One of the things that experts are looking at right now is how to effectively use this technology to create more efficient smart cities.

These cities gather important data from citizens and analyze the information to improve their quality of life. Sustainability, economic growth, a healthier population, and an efficient energy grid are among the benefits of living in such a city, Techcrunch reported.

So how exactly is blockchain going to help with any of these? Well, let’s look at the energy category for starters. Blockchain tech is poised to transform the energy network of a city through the creation of micro-grid neighborhoods.

These neighborhoods are essentially groups of houses that harvest solar energy via panels installed on roofs. They are then connected together in a network where they communicate with each other, selling or purchasing power in real time without a need for a major energy provider that doesn’t use renewable energy.

The U.K. is already experimenting with this kind of project, called Repowering London, where the houses run on a blockchain-based platform. This sort of system ensures that a household is allocated exactly the same amount of power that it consumes on a daily basis, decreasing or completely eliminating wasting energy. This project’s ultimate goal is to decrease a population’s energy bill to zero and provide the people with extra income if their households are producing energy more than they are consuming it.

There are also platforms out there that can collect data from citizens and grant them the choice of selling that data to companies for a monetary reward. For instance, Hewlett Packard Enterprise allows car owners to gather information about their car’s activity and store it in their Edgeline server using digital ledger technology.

Data such as pothole locations and traffic congestion can be sold to a city administrator interested in buying that information. Road repairs can be immediately rolled out and appropriate solutions to traffic-stricken areas can be drafted and implemented.

The technology can even reach the homeless as a blockchain-based welfare platform can be created through this innovation. The U.K. and Australia are already funding projects like this which aim to create a welfare system that will efficiently provide support to the homeless. And since the technology is quite adept at tracking, transparency, and rapid transactions, it’s a promising platform that can change the lives of these struggling people.

The government can monitor which of the dispossessed are buying essentials and which are purchasing frivolous things. They can then send help to people who are, say, purchasing alcohol rather than basic needs and provide proper counseling.

All of these are but some of the things that blockchain tech can bring. Of course, it’s still a long way before these can get completely integrated into a city, but the effort to usher them in the real world is already well underway.