MIF | Multiculturalism may help Macau become a ‘smart city’

Ma Chi Ngai

An economic forum on sustainable cities was organized as part of the 22nd Macao International Trade & Investment Fair last Friday.

During the forum, Ma Chi Ngai, chairman of the Macao Science and Technology Development Fund, shared with participants the concept of developing Macau as a “smart city”.

According to Ma, a “smart city” uses more advanced technologies to upgrade society’s civil functions and to provide more convenient public services.

Internationally, there are diverse sets of indicators for a “smart city”, one of the most popular having been developed by American urban and climate strategist Boyd Cohen.

Cohen’s “smart city” concept includes the elements smart economy, smart government, smart environment, smart mobility, smart living, and smart people.

On how Macau can transform itself into a “smart city,” Ma said that the main elements for Macau’s development lie in its multicultural background.

“When we talk about a smart city, we also talk about urban cities, which share some DNA elements. So, what is the DNA of Macau’s prominent characteristics? First, Macau has a long history of Chinese and western cultures mixed together,” said Ma, adding that Macau is a city for tourism that also involves Portuguese-speaking countries.

“We are the platform for China and Portuguese-speaking countries, and these are the main elements we want to identify in our smart city.”

Ma said the indicators for Macau include four elements: smart government, smart transportation, smart healthcare, and smart tourism.

Macau is currently building a data platform for  smart government which, according to Ma, “is integrating all Macau government data into one service platform.”

In order to achieve increased mobility in Macau through “smart transportation”, the government plans to increase public access to information via the Internet. These could include apps allowing commuters to check whether a bus is full, or its location in real time.

Advancements in health care and tourism will follow similar guidelines to the concepts explained above, with the Macau government aiming to utilize the Internet to increase access to information about the city’s hospital services, and to help tourists to stay updated on developments in Macau tourism. JZ