Smarter, greener plan for Milton Keynes
City Council sets out ambitious smart city action plan to tackle climate change, enhance public health and deliver more cost-efficient public services
Milton Keynes City Council is looking to expand its global reputation as a smart city and home of innovation through the launch of a new action plan. The ambitious plan supports the already established ‘Tech, Smart City, Digital and Creative Industries Strategy’, and sets out the city’s goals and schedule for the next two years. The plan is set to be approved next week.
Cllr Shanika Mahendran in front of an Ohmio LIFT autonomous shuttle bus, photo courtesy of Milton Keynes City Council
One key ingredient of the new plan is to enable advanced technologies to operate throughout the city, while also encouraging more innovative trials to address societal challenges such as sustainability, access to healthcare and the rising operational costs of public services.
Among the major initiatives outlined in the new plan, enhanced partnerships include work with the Open University to drive marketing and engagement through the MK:Smart programme, a joint partnership to align smart city work.
The council is also launching a comprehensive engagement plan through which it will involve local residents. This will be done via the new Experience Centre at centre:mk, a joint initiative between private sector partners and the city council, where people can interact with the latest cutting-edge robots and digital technologies.
What’s more, the new plan outlines the city council’s plans to build a world-leading ‘city as a testbed’. The council will also continue to support nationally strategic innovation projects, with the intention to position Milton Keynes as a hub for cutting-edge technologies to be tested and scaled, and so benefit modern urban environments.
Milton Keynes already has a good reputation as a testbed in which researchers can trial initiatives to help modern cities become greener and more pleasant places to live and work. Current live trials being undertake across the city include self-driving shuttle buses, urban drone deliveries and advanced radio communications. Last year, the NHS trialled a helper bot at Milton Keynes University Hospital. As many as one-in-three jobs in the city are in tech.
Last month, more than 1,000 people attended the council’s Artificial Intelligence Festival, where tech experts and businesses came together to showcase the latest tech. Plans are already under way for next year’s Milton Keynes Tech Week. The city council seeks to encourage further local tech investment, creating more skilled jobs for local people.
Cllr Shanika Mahendran, Cabinet Member for Economy, Sustainability and Innovation at Milton Keynes City Council, says: ‘We’re really passionate about tech and innovation in Milton Keynes, especially if it means we can tackle climate issues, improve access to public health, create local jobs and deliver better public services for our residents. Our Smart City Action Plan ensures we continue to break down barriers between emerging tech and everyday life to prioritise how our residents can benefit. If you have an idea for a smart city trial that can improve the lives of Milton Keynes residents, we want to hear from you.’
Organisations interested in trialling new technologies in an urban environment can contact the city council through Invest Milton Keynes via enquiries@investmiltonkeynes.com.
In related news:
Cheshire and Merseyside join Mobilise online support hub for carers
Edinburgh team working on solar lasers to power space missions
Leave a Reply