Whilst the structure and services of global cities are very similar there are very different ways in which cities are governed and administrated. This post will consider three different countries and cities:
- London, UK
- Paris, France
- New York, USA
The way in which cities are governed and administered will create some interesting cyber security challenges as each city develops smart technologies, services and greater inter-connectivity and integration. Whatever the management system across a city it may well be that a city of a certain size and population will require an integrated cyber security monitoring and operations strategy. This will then potentially cover multiple service types, third parties and stakeholders making for quite a complex arrangement.
Considerations
| Resources |
| Roles, responsibilities and demarcation with a Smart City Cyber Security strategy and governance model – part of the Smart City Cyber Security Monitoring Strategy and Smart City Threat Model. |
City Governance Structures
London
The table below shows the different formations and tier structures of UK Cities and London. Depending upon the city certain services may be managed across the tiers depending upon the responsibility.
| Arrangement | Upper tier authority | Lower tier authority |
| Non-metropolitan counties/Non-metropolitan districts | waste management, education, libraries, social services, transport, strategic planning, consumer protection, police, fire | housing, waste collection, council tax collection, local planning, licensing, cemeteries and crematoria |
| Unitary authorities | housing, waste management, waste collection, council tax collection, education, libraries, social services, transport, planning, consumer protection, licensing, cemeteries and crematoria, police and fire come under shire councils | |
| Metropolitan boroughs | housing, waste collection, council tax collection, education, libraries, social services, transport, planning, consumer protection, licensing, police, fire, cemeteries and crematoria | |
| Greater London/London boroughs | transport, strategic planning, regional development, police, fire | housing, waste collection, council tax collection, education, libraries, social services, local planning, consumer protection, licensing, cemeteries and crematoria |
| Combined authorities/constituent authorities | transport, economic development, regeneration & various (depends on devolution deal) | Dependent on the type and combined authority arrangement |
Paris
| Structure | Description |
| 20 Arrondissements – administrative districts | Each arrondissements has its own town hall and a directly elected council (conseil d’arrondissement), which, in turn, elects an arrondissement mayor. A selection of members from each arrondissement council form the Council of Paris (conseil de Paris), which, in turn, elects the mayor of Paris. |
New York
| Structure | Description |
| New York has a mayor-council system. The mayor is elected to a four-year term and is responsible for the administration of city government. The New York City Council is a unicameral body consisting of 51 members | In the government of New York City, the heads of about 50 city departments are appointed by the mayor, and the mayor also appoints several Deputy Mayors to head major offices within the executive branch of the city government. |
| People | New York City government employs 325,000 people |
| Borough and community government | New York City is composed of five boroughs or counties, collectively comprising 59 community districts |
| New York Agencies | 50 city departments, managed by Heads of Department who are appointed by the mayor |
Common City Services
The table below is a collection of city service types, this will, of course, differ greatly across city size and location, covering the main service areas offered in and by cities to the citizens. These services may be locally managed and governed or centrally governed and locally managed and those responsible for the strategy and transformation of service capabilities will drive the subsequent change.
| Area | Smart City Transformation Change impact – High / Low | Description |
| Housing | High | Development of new smart homes and upgrading of existing properties. |
| Waste management | High | New technologies to configure, monitor and manage city waste management. |
| waste collection | High | New technologies and sensors to monitor and control collection. |
| Tax collection, Revenues and Benefits | Low | Part of Smart Government strategy. May include smart citizen solutions |
| Education | High | Smart school technology, student technologies and integration with smart homes, mobility, commercial services. |
| Libraries | Medium | Digital services and technologies city citizens. May be focal point of free services |
| Social services | High | Part of Smart Government strategy as well as city integration of health services and smart technologies within homes |
| Transport | High | Connected, autonomous vehicles, logistics, delivery, passenger services through integration across cities, homes and transport services. |
| Urban planning | High | New governance and administration models to define, design and manage smart cities |
| Consumer protection | Low | Policy for citizen data protection, ecommerce and smart services |
| Licensing | Low | Policy for smart technology in Licensed Premises |
| Cemeteries and crematoria | Low | Smart technology for location or gravestone |
| Police | High | Including personal devices, mobility, street monitoring, AI and Machine Learning systems |
| Fire | High | Including personal devices, mobility and surveillance |
| Ambulance | High | Including personal devices, connected mobility solutions. |
| Health | High | Including personal devices, connected Home and Hospital solutions. |
| Infrastructure – lighting, signage, communications | High | Smart kiosk, lamppost, Street IOT, CCTV, smart signage and interaction with wearable devices. |
| Security | High | CCTV, recognition systems, Home and Commercial building monitoring |
| Culture – events, arts | High | Personal device, wearable device interaction, interactive events |
Smart City Cyber Security 