Athens joins the international club of smart cities

When we hear the term "smart city," we tend to think of some sort of place in a science-fiction movie, such as Spike Jonze's "Her." Smart lights, smart parking, smart applications, buses that fly and citizens with a permanent smile on their faces. Something far from the reality we live in today. But we do have technology already available to us today that drastically improves daily city life. In order to launch Athens into the world of smart cities, however, the groundwork must be laid and the infrastructure developed. Without fuss or fanfare, the process for attaining this has already begun.

In recent years the City of Athens has drawn valuable tips and information from big metropolises around the world, particularly New York. The aim is to optimize the technology that we already have and make it more readily available to citizens. Out of this came the idea for City Hall...